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Cardiovascular Disease in Transplant Recipients: Current and Future Treatment Strategies

Division of Nephrology, University of British Columbia, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Correspondence: Dr. John S. Gill, Division of Nephrology, University of British Columbia, St. Paul’s Hospital, Providence Building, Ward 6a, 1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6Z 1Y6. Phone: 604-806-9048; Fax: 604-806-8076; E-mail: jgill{at}providencehealth.bc.ca

A cardiovascular disease event in a transplant recipient may be the result of a pretransplantation disease process, a direct effect of immunosuppressant medications, or the result of exposure to a variety of traditional and nontraditional risk factors after transplantation. Although the understanding of posttransplantation cardiovascular disease remains incomplete, there is evidence that the impact of posttransplantation cardiovascular disease has been decreased, through increased attention to this problem. In the absence of controlled studies to guide therapy, this review summarizes treatment of cardiovascular disease risk factors for which there is strong evidence of benefit in the nontransplantation setting, observational evidence of a similar risk in transplant recipients, and evidence that treatment can be safely administered to transplant recipients. Putative risk factors for posttransplantation cardiovascular disease for which the current level of evidence is insufficient to support specific treatment recommendations are also discussed. Potential new strategies to decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease events after transplantation in the future, including aggressive pretransplantation risk reduction, individualized treatments to prevent different types of cardiovascular disease, dedicated efforts to reduce cardiovascular disease events during transitions between dialysis and transplantation, and manipulation of immunosuppressant protocols, are also introduced.