Analysis of the risk factors for allograft vasculopathy in asymptomatic patients after cardiac transplantation

OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of immune and nonimmune risk factors on the development of allograft vasculopathy after cardiac transplantation. METHODS: We studied 39 patients with a mean age of 46±12 years. The following variables were analyzed: weight (kg), body mass index (kg/m²), donor's age and sex, rejection episodes in the first and second years after transplantation, systolic and diastolic blood pressures (mmHg), total cholesterol and fractions (mg/dL), triglycerides (mg/dL), diabetes, and cytomegalovirus infection. The presence of allograft vasculopathy was established through coronary angiography. RESULTS: Allograft vasculopathy was observed in 15 (38%) patients. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in regard to hypertension, cytomegalovirus infection, diabetes, donor's sex and age, rejection episodes in the first and second years after transplantation, and cholesterol levels. We observed a tendency toward higher levels of triglycerides in the group with disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed statistically significant differences between the two groups when we analyzed the body mass index (24.53±4.3 versus 28.11±4.6; p=0.019). CONCLUSION: Body mass index was an important marker of allograft vasculopathy in the population studied.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Bacal,Fernando, Veiga,Viviane Cordeiro, Fiorelli,Alfredo Inácio, Bellotti,Giovanni, Bocchi,Edimar Alcides, Stolf,Noedir Antonio Groppo, Ramires,José Antonio Franchini
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia - SBC 2000
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0066-782X2000001100006
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!