Abstract
Liver transplantation is the standard of care for acute and chronic end-stage liver disease. Advances in medical therapy and surgical techniques have transformed the long-term survival of liver-transplant (LT) recipients. The prevalence of post-transplant cardiovascular complications has been rising with increased life expectancy after liver transplantation. Currently, deaths related to cardiovascular complications are one of the main causes of long-term mortality in LT recipients, as cardiovascular disease is the reason of 19–42% of non-liver-related mortality after transplant. On the other hand, metabolic syndrome is common among LT recipients before and after transplantation. In fact, their components (abdominal obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidemia) are often exacerbated by transplant-specific factors, such as immunosuppression, inappropriate diet, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle, and add a significant risk of developing atherosclerosis. These aspects are discussed in this article.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.