P192: Endothelial Dysfunction, Arterial Stiffness in Lung Transplanted Individuals

Abstract

Background

The immunosuppressive treatment after organ transplantation highly contribute to evolve cardiovascular comorbidities like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and kidney diseases. The effect of hypertriglyceri-demia could cause accelerated atherosclerosis. Previous smoking and excessive inflammatory response could increase the cardiovascular risk on those patients who were transplanted because of end-staged chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Long term follow up needed on lung transplanted (LuTx) patient with cardiovascular risk assessment and to screen patients with vulnerable cardiovascular diseases. However, the correlation between LuTx patients and arterial stiffness is not investigated in the literature. Method: We investigated the arterial stiffness parameters in 51 LuTx and 49 healthy individuals. The arterial stiffness parameters were measured with oscillometric method (Tensiomed Arteriograph). Aortic pulse wave velocity (aoPWV), augmentation index (Aix), central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) and aortic pulse wave reflection time (RT) were determined.

Results

We found increased aoPWV and Aix values in lung transplanted (LuTx) patients than in the healthy individuals. Significant higher aoPWV (8.45 vs 7.49 m/s; p = 0.045 ), and RT (120 vs 134 ms; p = 0,0004) were found. Patients who were transplanted because of COPD and lung fibrosis the aoPWV were significantly higher versus the patient who were transplanted because of cystic fibrosis or pulmonary hypertension.

Conclusion

We strongly recommend the long term cardiovascular follow up on lung transplanted patient, because of the common systemic atherogen effect of the frequent infection and immunsupressive therapy.