title: Coronary risk factor management for the prevention and treatment of graft vessel disease in heart transplant patients.
abstract: There is increasing evidence that atherogenic risk factors largely contribute to the pathogenesis of graft vessel disease (GVD) after heart transplantation. Initial endothelial damage of the transplant heart derives from reperfusion ischemia during operation, repeated infections, and rejection episodes. Immunosuppressive medication considerably increases low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), and fibrinogen blood levels, which in turn further damage the endothelium of the graft coronaries. Probably, this interplay of immunological and atherogenic factors accounts for the rapid development of GVD and its poor prognosis. The rapidity of the disease process makes it necessary to eliminate important risk factors as early and as efficiently as possible. Therefore, we studied whether heart transplant patients could benefit from a combined treatment of statins and apheresis heparin extracorporeal LDL/fibrinogen precipitation (HELP), which has already been shown to be beneficial for the treatment of advanced coronary artery disease. Such a combined treatment allows simultaneous and drastic reduction of LDL, lipoprotein(a), and fibrinogen blood levels and significantly prevented GVD. Moreover, it did not affect the prevention of rejections and infections, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Clinic Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany. Beate.Jaeger@klch.med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Jaeger
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schirmer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thiery
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Meiser
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Uberfuhr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kreuzer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reichart
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seidel
mesh_terms: D001781:Blood Component Removal / Q000379:methods*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors