Prospective assessment of subclinical cardiovascular damage and associated factors in liver transplant recipients

Summary Cardiovascular (CV) disease plays a major role after liver transplantation (LT). This prospective study assessed subclinical CV damage after LT by measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV), intima‐media thickness (IMT) and left‐ventricular mass index (LVMI) and characterized associated risk factors. We included 112 patients with a median of 1.8 years after LT (q1–q3 0.9–9.2). Fifty‐three percent (n = 59) of patients had ≥2 annual assessments (median follow‐up 1.6 years, q1–q3 1.1–2.0), with a total of 195 assessments. We found increased PWV (indicating arteriosclerosis) in 16% (n = 17), elevated IMT in 5% (n = 5; indicating atherosclerosis) and increased LVMI in 25% (n = 24; indicating left‐ventricular hypertrophy). A linear mixed model analysis using all 195 assessments revealed that higher age and systolic blood pressure (BP) were associated with higher PWV (β = 0.069, P