title: Mechanisms and consequences of arterial hypertension after renal transplantation.
abstract: The high incidence of hypertension after renal transplantation contributes to the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in renal transplant recipients. Although cyclosporine has been influential in the improvement of transplant outcome, it has emerged as a major cause of hypertension after organ transplantation. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of cyclosporine-induced hypertension include enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity, renal vasoconstriction, and sodium/water retention. Hypertension is also significantly associated with reduced graft survival and thereby requires aggressive treatment intervention. Calcium channel blockers may offer some advantages over angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for the treatment of hypertension in stable renal transplant recipients. Nevertheless, selection of the most appropriate antihypertensive agent should take into account the possibility of pharmacokinetic interactions with immunosuppressive agents. There is evidence to suggest that the use of tacrolimus-based immunosuppression induces less hypertension compared with cyclosporine. Not only do patients receiving tacrolimus tend to require less antihypertensive therapy, but converting patients from cyclosporine to tacrolimus has been shown to result in significant reductions in blood pressure. Thus, tacrolimus may be associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile in renal transplant recipients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands. h.a.koomans@digd.azu.nl
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Koomans
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ligtenberg
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine; D016559:Tacrolimus