Distinguishing the causes of post-transplantation hypertension.

The purpose of this article is to elucidate the causes of hypertension following kidney transplantation. In the months and years that follow their operation, most recipients of renal transplants develop or maintain blood pressures that are high. This complication has become more prominent since the widespread use of cyclosporine for immunosuppression. Children seem especially prone to hypertension after kidney transplantation. Absence of hypertension is a favorable long-term prognostic sign. It's presence suggests that allograft function is impaired. Impaired allograft function may be due to either lesions intrinsic to the allograft, or lesions that are extrinsic to the allograft but alter its function. Many transplant patients have more than one possible explanation for hypertension. This multifactorial nature of hypertension after transplantation complicates the management of patients.