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Hepatitis C and the heart: to beat or not to beat

Willam Kcomt1, Afshin A Nahavandi, Malay Myaing

  • 1Internal Medicine, St. Barnabas Hospital, Affiliated to Weil Medical College of Cornell University, Bronx, NY, USA.

International Journal of Cardiology
|July 21, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Hepatitis C patients often show echocardiographic abnormalities, but these are usually due to other conditions. High right ventricular systolic pressure, indicating pulmonary hypertension, is an independent finding linked to Hepatitis C infection.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Hepatology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a growing concern for cardiovascular health.
  • Previous studies suggest a link between HCV and cardiomyopathies, but evidence remains inconclusive.
  • Enteroviruses have also been implicated in heart conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of echocardiographic abnormalities in patients with Hepatitis C.
  • To determine if cardiac findings in HCV patients are independent of other co-morbidities.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 108 Hepatitis C patients was studied between 1998 and 2001.
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) confirmed Hepatitis C infection.
  • Echocardiographic measurements assessed left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular function.

Main Results:

  • 50% of patients exhibited echocardiographic abnormalities.
  • Common findings included left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (32%) and elevated right ventricular systolic pressures (13.8%).
  • No cases of dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathies were diagnosed; contractility abnormalities were rare (4%).

Conclusions:

  • Echocardiographic abnormalities are frequent in Hepatitis C patients but often attributable to co-existing conditions.
  • Elevated right ventricular systolic pressure, suggesting pulmonary hypertension potentially secondary to portal hypertension, is an independent cardiac finding associated with Hepatitis C infection.
Abstract

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