title: Vascular remodelling in intramyocardial resistance vessels in hypertensive human cardiac transplant recipients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cardiac transplant recipients often develop hypertension as a side effect of immunosuppressive treatment. The aim of this study was to use the serial endomyocardial biopsies taken to monitor rejection to study the early and sequential arterial changes in human myocardial resistance arteries as hypertension develops.
  
  
  METHODS
  At least 14 biopsies were studied from each of 23 patients, divided into a normotensive group (12 patients with a diastolic pressure never greater than 90 mm Hg) and a hypertensive group (11 patients with more than 10% of diastolic pressure measurements above 100 mm Hg). Morphometric analysis of between 30 and 50 arteries and arterioles in two widely separated histological levels from each biopsy was undertaken using an Optomax image analyser.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a correlation between blood pressure, particularly diastolic pressure, and rate of medial thickening of intramyocardial coronary resistance arteries and arterioles (P = 0.0025). There was also a correlation between serum cyclosporin A concentrations and mean artery wall thickness (P = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypertension and cyclosporin A treatment are associated with significant wall thickening of intramyocardial resistance vessels in cardiac allograft recipients. These changes may be functionally and clinically important.
authors.affiliation: University of Glasgow Department of Pathology, Western Infirmary, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: McKay
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Richens
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: McPhaden
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Lindop
mesh_terms: D001160:Arterioles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000473:pathology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D016572:Cyclosporine