1.3 Impact of Renal Transplantation on Arterial Stiffness

Introduction Risk of a cardiovascular event is known to increase in the period immediately post-transplantation before returning to baseline or lower. We hypothesised that this might be due to changes in arterial stiffness and/or endothelial function. Methods: We measured aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), wave reflections (AIx), and endothelial function in 40 patients undergoing living donor renal transplantation, immediately pre-transplant and at 1 week, 3 and 12 months post-transplant. Results: 35 patients completed the 12 months follow-up. Mean eGFR increased from 8±3 mL/min pre-transplant to 51 ±13 mL/min at 1 week post-transplant (P < 0.001) and remained at this level throughout follow-up. aPWV increased from 7.4±1.4m/s at baseline to 8.1 ±1.3m/s at 1 week post-transplant (P