Modification of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and the Evolution of The Cardiovascular Phenotype of Liver Transplant Recipients in the Long -Term Postoperative Period.

Aim: To evaluate the contribution of traditional and additional cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) to the development of chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD) in liver transplant recipients during the long-term postoperative period.

Material and methods: A single-center prospective cohort study was conducted. The study included 740 patients with chronic end-stage liver disease (CESLD) and cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCMP). During the observation period (5.4±2.29 years), patients were divided into two groups: liver transplant recipients (n=420) and patients with CESLD on the waiting list who did not receive a donor organ (n=320). In patients enrolled to the study upon inclusion in the waiting list, CVRFs, history, clinical and laboratory and instrumental data were studied at all stages of the hepato-cardiac continuum.

Results: During the long-term postoperative period, liver transplant recipients belonged to the group of high cardiovascular risk: over a 5-year observation period, 35.7% (n=150) of them developed metabolic syndrome (MS), 9.8% developed verified CIHD associated with MS. The incidence of traditional CVRFs was high (arterial hypertension, 88.6%; obesity, 36.6%; hypercholesterolemia, 77.8%; hypertriglyceridemia, 43.6%; reduced concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 35.4%; increased concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 66.8% and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 51.2%; increased atherogenic index, 61.5%). During the long-term postoperative period as compared to the period when patients were on the waiting list, additional CVRFs appeared: increases in body mass index, calcium index, nitric oxide metabolites, endothelin-1, homocysteine, intercellular adhesion molecules VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, and decreases in endothelium-dependent vasodilation and glomerular filtration rate to less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. A model for the development of CIHD was created. The model uses a complex of independent risk factors and demonstrates a predictive accuracy of 84.6%.

Conclusion: The study results indicate a modification of CVRFs and a dynamic change in the cardiovascular phenotype of liver transplant recipients: progression of CCMP during their stay on the waiting list, regression of CCMP manifestations during the first 12 months after orthotopic liver transplantation, and increases in the total cardiovascular risk and likelihood of CIHD in the long-term postoperative period.