Relation of abnormal cardiac stress testing with outcomes in patients undergoing renal transplantation

Cardiovascular risk stratification is often performed in patients considered for renal transplantation. In a single center, we sought to examine the association between abnormal stress testing with imaging and post-renal transplant major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) using multivariable logistic regression. From January 2006 to May 2016 232 patients underwent renal transplantation and 59 (25%) had an abnormal stress test result. Compared to patients with a normal stress test, patients with an abnormal stress test had a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, coronary artery disease (CAD), and heart failure. Among those with an abnormal result, 45 (76%) had mild, 10 (17%) moderate, and 4 (7%) severe ischemia. In our cohort, 9 patients (3.9%) had MACE at 30-days post-transplant, 5 of whom had an abnormal stress test. The long-term MACE rate, at a median of 5 years, was 32%. After adjustment, diabetes (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.12–5.00, p = 0.02), CAD (OR: 3.05, 95% CI 1.30–7.14, p = 0.01) and atrial fibrillation (OR: 5.86, 95% CI 1.86–18.44, p = 0.002) were independently associated with long-term MACE, but an abnormal stress test was not (OR: 0.83, 95% CI 0.37–1.92, p = 0.68). In conclusion, cardiac stress testing was not an independent predictor of long-term MACE among patients undergoing renal transplant.