Drug Therapy in the Heart Transplant Recipient

With improving survival, the heart transplant recipient faces an increasing number of medical problems caused by both aging and the cumulative complications of immunosuppressive drugs. 1 The availability of new drugs to treat infection, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, renal insufficiency, diabetes, osteoporosis, gout, and malignancies has resulted in the heart transplant recipient and their physicians facing an almost overwhelming number of important drug-drug interactions.In parts 1 through 3 of this series, we reviewed commonly used immunosuppressive drugs and their pharmacology, as well as the common medical problems faced by the heart transplant recipient.In this article, we provide an overview of the mechanisms of common and important potential drug-drug interactions and guidelines for avoiding these interactions.