Factors influencing the development of hypercholesterolemia after cardiac transplantation

Although hypercholesterolemia is a frequent complication in cardiac transplant recipients, the exact mechanisms contributing to its development are not known. Cholesterol levels in 151 thoracic transplant patients treated with cyclosporine, azathioprine and prednisone were retrospectively examined to evaluate the factors influencing the heterogeneity of changes after the first year after transplantation in patients on a standard 3-drug immunosuppression regimen. Three groups were compared including ischemic heart transplant (n = 72), nonischemic heart transplant (n = 64) and heart-lung/lung transplant (n = 15) recipients. After the first year, 64 patients (43%) developed consistent hypercholesterolemia (>240 mg/dl) for which pharmacologic treatment was initiated. Forty-eight patients (67%) in the ischemic heart transplant group required treatment, significantly (p