Background: Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are the leading cause of death among patients with chronic kidney disease, including patients on dialysis and after kidney transplantation. The aim of study was the retrospective assessment of CV risk in renal transplant recipients during the peritransplant period.
Material and methods: Evaluation of CV risk was made using the Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI). One hundred kidney transplant recipient (60 males/40 females) participated in the study. In 82 recipients (82%), the RCRI index was 2 points, which was associated with a 6.6% risk of cardiac events. The remaining 18 patients (18%) had ≥3 RCRI points, which was associated with an 11% risk. The median RCRI score in the study group was 2.26, which was related to a risk of 7.39%.
Results: In the perioperative period, there were no CV events. The study group was observed for 5 years after transplantation, and during this time, 11 CV incidents occurred. Most of CV incidents occurred during the first 25 months after transplantation. Among patients, who underwent a CV incident, the RCRI was 3 and 2 points in 4 and 5 patients, respectively. Significant correlations were found between RCRI and both age and time spent on dialysis (P < .001).
Conclusions: Patients who qualify for a transplant are at a significant risk of having a CV incident in the peri- and postoperative periods. CV incidents did not occur in the perioperative period, although as many as 6% of patients experienced CV incidents within 2 years after transplant. Four (44%) of the 9 patients who experienced CV incidents after transplantation had a very high RCRI. This indicates the need for a very thorough long-term cardiologic supervision of transplanted patients.