COMMENTARY

Liver

Origins of cardiac dysfunction in cirrhosis

W Jiménez¹, V Arroyo²

¹ Hormonal Laboratory, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain
² Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr W Jiménez, Hormonal Laboratory, Hospital Clínic i Provincial, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain;
wjimenez@medicina.ub.es

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Is cirrhotic cardiomyopathy a specific cardiac dysfunction of cirrhotic patients or is it induced by the hyperdynamic circulation in these patients?

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Keywords: brain natriuretic peptide; cardiac dysfunction; cirrhotic cardiomyopathy; pro-brain natriuretic peptide; QT-interval; cardiac ventricular peptides brain natriuretic peptide; cardiac dysfunction; cirrhotic cardiomyopathy; pro-brain natriuretic peptide; QT-interval; cardiac ventricular peptides

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The clinical course of patients with advanced liver disease is complicated by progressive impairment in circulatory function characterised by low arterial pressure, high cardiac output, and decreased systemic vascular resistance.¹ Clinical and experimental investigations performed during the past two decades have shed light on the multiple mechanisms accounting for these disturbances. These studies have also established the pathogenic role of circulatory dysfunction in organ specific syndromes that commonly develop in cirrhotic patients, such as the hepatorenal and the hepatopulmonary syndromes.^2,3 The heart is another functionally compromised organ in cirrhotic patients. However, whether the hyperdynamic circulation, by overloading the heart, induces cirrhotic cardiomyopathy or whether this is a specific cardiac dysfunction of cirrhotic patients has been subject of extensive discussions.⁴

Cardiac function abnormalities in cirrhosis are clinically not apparent. However, when cardiac function is explored, a reduction in right ventricular volume, probably secondary to reduced venous return, and left ventricular . . . [Full text of this article]

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