Cardiac Response to Early Conversion from Calcineurin Inhibitor to Everolimus in Renal Transplant Recipients

Abstract

Calcineurin inhibitors are associated with adverse cardiac effects. Mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors have been reported to have beneficial effects on cardiac function. We used advanced echocardiographic techniques in a randomized controlled trial to examine cardiac responses to an everolimus-based arm versus a calcineurin inhibitor-based arm in de novo kidney transplant recipients. This was a substudy of the Certican Nordic Trial in Renal Transplantation study, a randomized controlled trial on safety and efficacy of early (week 7 after renal transplantation) conversion from cyclosporine A (CsA) to everolimus versus continued CsA during 1-year follow-up. A total of 44 patients (66% men; median [range] age, 61 [28-78] years) were included. All participants had a complete echocardiographic evaluation at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Left ventricular (LV) systolic function, LV mass, left atrial volumes, and blood pressure response did not differ between groups during 1-year follow-up. There was, however, a difference between the groups in change in peak early mitral velocity after 1 year (P=0.02), and E/e' ratio trended higher in the everolimus group (P=0.09). Early conversion from CsA-based to everolimus-based immunosuppressive treatment in de novo renal transplant recipients caused marginal changes in LV diastolic function but no effect on LV systolic function or LV mass.