Left ventricular hypertrophy in renal transplant recipients in the first year after transplantation.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular complications in renal transplant recipients. The study objective here was to assess LVH and related factors in renal transplant recipients in the 1st year after transplantation.

Methods: Echocardiographic examinations were performed in the early post-transplantation period in 43 patients (age, 43.9 ± 12.4 years; male, 53.5%) and at 1 year after transplantation in 40 patients. At the same time, basic blood tests, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level tests, and ambulatory blood pressure measurements were performed. LVH was diagnosed when LV mass index was >95 g/m(2) in women and >115 g/m(2) in men. Statistical analyses were performed with the use of the R Package.

Results: LVH (mainly concentric) was found in 51.2% of the patients in the early period and in 50% of the patients at 1 year. In 30% of the patients with baseline LVH it regressed at 1 year and in another 30% LVH developed de novo. In the early period, LV mass was influenced by age, sex, body mass index (BMI), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and a history of cardiovascular disorders during dialysis therapy, whereas at 1 year after transplantation it was influenced by age, sex, BMI, 24-hour systolic blood pressure, a history of hypertension during dialysis therapy, and abnormal 24-hour blood pressure profile. Weight gain interfered with LVH regression during the 1st year after transplantation, whereas no improvement in blood pressure control contributed to de novo development of LVH. All other patients (those without LVH) had a morphologic abnormality of the left ventricle, the so-called concentric remodeling. Higher NT-proBNP levels were observed in patients with LVH.

Conclusions: LVH is present in one-half of renal transplant recipients in the 1st year after transplantation, and concentric remodeling is present in the remaining patients of this group. An echocardiographic examination is indicated in every renal transplant recipient. Measurements of NT-proBNP levels are helpful in LVH diagnostics.