Percutaneous coronary interventions and antiplatelet therapy in renal transplant recipients

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity following renal transplantation (RT), accounting for 40–50% of all deaths. After renal transplantation, an adverse cardiovascular event occurs in nearly 40% of patients; given the dialysis vintage and the average wait time, the likelihood of receiving coronary revascularization is very high. There is a significant gap in the literature in terms of the outcomes of prophylactic coronary revascularization in renal transplantation candidates. Current guidelines on myocardial revascularization stipulate that renal transplant patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) should not be excluded from the potential benefit of revascularization. Compared with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), however, coronary artery bypass grafting is associated with higher early and 30-day mortality. About one-third of renal transplant patients with CAD have to be treated invasively and so PCI is currently the most popular mode of revascularization in these fragile and compromised patients. A newer generation drug-eluting stent (DES) should be preferred over a bare metal stent (BMS) because of its lower risk of restenosis and improved safety concerns (stent thrombosis) compared with first generation DES and BMS. Among DES, despite no significant differences being reported in terms of efficacy, the newer everolimus and zotarolimus eluting stents should be preferred given the possibility of discontinuing, if ...
Source: Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Reviews Source Type: research