Organ Transplantation Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Organ Transplantation, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery.

Hypertension in kidney transplantation.

Castillo-Lugo JA, Vergne-Marini P

Dallas Nephrology Associates, Dallas, TX 75235, USA.

Arterial hypertension in renal transplant patients plays a major role in the progression to chronic allograft failure, and in morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease. Its cause is diverse, with contributions not only from donor and/or recipient factors, but it also is influenced strongly by the type of immunosuppressive regimen. Despite increased awareness of the adverse effects of hypertension in both graft and patient survival, long-term studies have shown that arterial hypertension in the transplant population has not been controlled adequately. Ambulatory blood pressure measurements provide the advantage of a better assessment of the diurnal blood pressure variation, a predictor of target organ damage and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality events. Although the available data do not support the recommendation of any class of antihypertensive medication as preferred agents for blood pressure management in the transplant population, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers have shown beneficial effects beyond their antihypertensive effects. Clinical data in transplant recipients are emerging that suggest that applying interventions proven to be effective in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population may be effective for the transplant population.

Published 5 October 2005 in Semin Nephrol, 25(4): 252-60.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Organ Transplantation Research Today. All Rights Reserved.