Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the most frequent cause of death in kidney transplant patients. High-flow arteriovenous fistula (AVF) increases cardiac output and may contribute to hyperkinetic heart failure. AVF follow-up is not implemented in kidney transplant patients. The aim of this study was to reduce AVF blood flow in a group of patients with a high-flow AVF following kidney transplantation to reduce cardiac strain.
Methods: This prospective study was performed in kidney transplant patients who had a vascular access created before transplantation. The AVF of these patients was examined by ultrasound with a focus on AVF flow and brachial artery size. If high-flow AVF was detected, flow reduction was performed in the indicated group of patients.
Results: The study examined 164 patients, of whom 24 had a hyperfunctional AVF (14.8%). A total of 16 AVF flow reductions were performed, which led to an average decrease in cardiac index by 0.77 L/min/m2. Primary patency of the reconstructions was 93.33% after 12 months. All patients experienced a subjective improvement in dyspnea.
Conclusion: Reduction in AVF flow leads to an improvement in the quality of life of kidney transplant patients. Maintaining a functional AVF is beneficial, especially for patients after repeated surgeries, where the option of creating an autologous AVF is limited.
Keywords: arteriovenous fistula; blood flow reduction; kidney transplant; kidney transplantation.