Heart damage in patients with cirrhosis of the liver

The review outlines the current understanding of the clinical syndrome of heart disease in patients with liver cirrhosis and the development of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy. Patients with cirrhosis of the liver often notice chest pain, palpitations, complaints of arterial hypotension and rapid fatigue. Echocardiography shows that the left ventricular ejection fraction in cirrhosis is preserved at rest and decreases under stress. In some patients with viral liver cirrhosis, there is a decrease in global myocardial deformation (the presence of latent systolic dysfunction). More pronounced impairment of left ventricular diastolic function is recorded in patients with ascites and patients with Child–Pugh class B and C. In patients with ascites, unfavorable left ventricular remodeling, left heart cavities enlargement, dilatation of the pulmonary artery and its branches are more common. There is an increase in pulmonary artery pressure, the development of portopulmonary hypertension and hepatopulmonary syndrome in patients with liver cirrhosis. Тhe development of these syndromes leads to a sharp decrease in the quality of life of patients with relatively preserved liver function and a worsening of the prognosis for orthotopic liver transplantation. Аpproximately half of patients with liver cirrhosis have electrophysiological disorders: prolongation of the QT interval, tachycardia, supraventricular and ventricular extrasystoles. To date, there are no clinical guidelines for the management of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy. If a patient with liver cirrhosis develops clinically significant heart failure, then general principles of management of such patients are necessary. It is necessary to limit the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and cardiac glycosides. The combined use of nonselective beta-blockers and nitrates reduce cardiac output and QT interval. The use of potassium canrenoate, lisinopril helps reverse the development of structural and functional changes in left ventricle. The positive effect of antiviral therapy on cardiac hemodynamics in patients with viral cirrhosis was noted. Liver transplantation is known to be an effective treatment for cirrhotic cardiomyopathy, but this treatment may worsen latent heart failure. Thus, in patients with liver cirrhosis, heart damage occurs with the development of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy, while the mechanisms of the development of myocardial dysfunction are not fully understood. Further studies of the development of the syndrome are required for timely diagnosis and clinical intervention to improve the survival of patients.