Cardiac cachexia is associated with right ventricular failure and liver dysfunction

The mechanisms involved in cardiac cachexia remain poorly understood. We examined the association of right ventricular (RV) and hepatic dysfunction with cardiac cachexia.

We prospectively enrolled 118 patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤40%, which were subgrouped as follows: New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II (n=59), NYHA class III without cachexia (n=41) and NYHA class III with cachexia (n=18). All patients underwent blood collection, echocardiography and exercise testing.

Reduced systolic RV function (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion [TAPSE] ≤15 mm), was present in 80% of cachectic patients. When comparing NYHA class II patients vs. non-cachectic and cachectic NYHA class III patients we found a stepwise decrease in systolic RV function (TAPSE 19 [16-23] vs. 16 [13-19] vs. 14 [9-15] mm, respectively; p<0.001) and an increase in right atrial pressure (RAP; >10 mm Hg: 6.8 vs. 27.5 vs. 75.0%, respectively; p<0.001), indicating a higher degree of congestive right HF in cardiac cachexia. Systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle did not differ between non-cachectic and cachectic patients in NYHA class III. Serum alkaline phosphatase and direct bilirubin correlated with TAPSE and RAP, and were highest in cachectic patients (all p ≤ 0.002), suggesting cholestatic dysfunction due to liver congestion. In multivariable regression analysis, RV dysfunction, cholestatic liver parameters and albumin were independently associated with the presence of cardiac cachexia.

Patients with cardiac cachexia display a more pronounced degree of right HF, cholestatic liver dysfunction and hypoalbuminemia compared to non-cachectic patients of similar LVEF and NYHA class.