Effects of successful renal transplantation on left ventricular mass.

Left ventricular hypertrophy is an independent cardiovascular risk factor in the general population and in patients with chronic renal failure. Relatively little is known about the effects of renal transplantation on left ventricular hypertrophy. The aim of this study was to determine the changes in left ventricular mass after successful renal transplantation and to evaluate the importance of some clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables on the trend to left ventricular hypertrophy. Twenty-three patients with end-stage renal disease were studied by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echocardiography before and 2 years following renal transplantation. After 24 months of follow-up, all transplant recipients had adequate renal function (serum creatinine <2 mg/dL). At the end of the study, we observed a significant decrease in left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index compared to the pretransplantation period. In renal transplant recipients, the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy significantly decreased (78% versus 44%, P < .03) after 2 years of follow-up. Systolic 24-hour blood pressure was the only predictor of left ventricular mass and of left ventricular mass index at 2 years after transplantation. In conclusion, successful renal transplantation produces a regression of left ventricular hypertrophy. This beneficial effect depends on a decrease in systolic pressure levels.