Late hypertension following renal allotransplantation

Post-transplant hypertension has been observed in 98 renal allograft recipients who had good renal function and whose follow-up was more than 15 months. The role of the original diseased kidneys as well as the role of the renal pressor system was studied with emphasis on late hypertension. Post-transplant hypertension was found to be a multifactorial phenomenon with frequency decreasing as a function of prolonged graft survival. Renal artery stenosis was an infrequent but significant cause of hypertension and was found in 10 of 29 arteriograms performed. Renin studies performed in 34 hypertensive patients and in a control group of 11 recipients showed that elevation of plasma renin activity and of plasma aldosterone level is frequent but difficult to interpret, particularly when a renal artery stenosis is observed. These investigations may be useful in recognizing the role of retained diseased kidneys in sustaining hypertension. Plasma aldosterone was found elevated in nearly all of the patients. The role of corticosteroids and the similarity of post-transplant hypertension, in some cases, with the one kidney model of experimental hypertension are discussed.