Factors associated with cardiovascular events after simultaneous liver–kidney transplant from the US Multicenter Simultaneous Liver–Kidney Transplant Consortium

Cardiovascular disease is a leading complication after both liver and kidney transplantation. Factors associated with and rates of cardiovascular events (CVEs) after simultaneous liver–kidney transplant (SLKT) are unknown. This was a retrospective cohort study of adult SLKT recipients between 2002 and 2017 at six centers in six United Network for Organ Sharing regions in the US Multicenter SLKT Consortium. The primary outcome was a CVE defined as hospitalization due to acute coronary syndrome, arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, or other CV causes (stroke or peripheral vascular disease) within 1 year of SLKT. Among 515 SLKT subjects (mean age ± SD, 55.4 ± 10.6 years; 35.5% women; 68.1% White), 8.7% had a CVE within 1 year of SLKT. The prevalence of a CVE increased from 3.3% in 2002–2008 to 8.9% in 2009–2011 to 14.0% in 2012–2017 (p = 0.0005). SLKT recipients with a CVE were older (59.9 vs. 54.9 years, p < 0.0001) and more likely to have coronary artery disease (CAD) (37.8% vs. 18.4%, p = 0.002) and atrial fibrillation (AF) (27.7% vs. 7.9%, p = 0.003) than those without a CVE. There was a trend toward older age by era of SLKT (p = 0.054). In multivariate analysis adjusted for cardiac risk factors at transplant, age (odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02, 1.11), CAD (OR, 3.62; 95% CI, 1.60, 8.18), and AF (OR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.14, 4.89) were associated with a 1‐year CVE after SLKT. Conclusion: Among SLKT recipients, we observed a 4‐fold increase in the prevalence of 1‐year CVEs over time. Increasing age, CAD, and AF were the main potential explanatory factors for this trend independent of other risk factors. These findings suggest that CV risk protocols may need to be tailored to this high‐risk population.