Cirrhosis-related changes in left ventricular function and correlation with the model for end-stage liver disease...

The purpose of our study is to investigate cirrhosis-related left ventricular remodeling and functional changes, further to analyze the correlations with model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score.

A total of 89 cirrhotic patients were enrolled for study and subgrouped according to MELD score: ≤ 9, 10-19, and ≥ 20. Thirty healthy individuals were enrolled as controls. All study participants underwent cardiac assessment of the left ventricle with Doppler echocardiography; the parameters assessed included left ventricular-end systolic diameter (LVESD), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), interventricular septal thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), left atrial diameter (LAD), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), cardiac output (CO), mitral flow velocity (VE/VA ratio), and E-wave deceleration time (DT).

The cirrhotic patients had significantly higher LVESD, LVEDD, IVST, LAD, CO and DT than the control group, but significantly lower VE/VA ratio (all P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that the higher the MELD score, the greater the increase in LVESD, LVEDD, IVST, LAD and DT (all P < 0.05). Nearly one-half of the cirrhotic patients showed left atrial enlargement and a VE/VA ratio ≤ 1, and these features were more common in patients with MELD score ≥ 20. LAD, LVEDD and DT were positively correlated with MELD score (r = 0.208, 0.319 and 0.197, respectively; all P < 0.05).

Patients with cirrhosis had impaired cardiac function, mainly present as left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, and the extent of dysfunction was correlated with the MELD score. Left atrial enlargement and VE/VA ratio ≤ 1 may serve as useful diagnostic indexes for cirrhotic cardiomyopathy.