mTOR Inhibition and Cardiovascular Diseases: Cardiac Hypertrophy.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is highly prevalent in kidney transplant recipients and is associated with poor clinical outcome. Immunosuppressive agents might affect LVH behavior after kidney transplantation. This review is an appraisal of available data regarding LVH in renal transplantation and especially of studies that evaluated LVH response to treatment. In particular, the role of mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors adopted as immunosuppressive agents in kidney transplantation is reviewed in the light of recent studies that have shown LVH regression induced by this class of medications in kidney transplant recipients with posttransplant cardiomyopathy. Larger randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm these findings and to ascertain the impact of such LVH regression on hard endpoints in kidney transplant recipients with posttransplant cardiomyopathy.