Frequency of Cardiomyopathy in Patients with Hepatic Cirrhosis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of cardiomyopathy and its manifestations in patients with liver cirrhosis presenting at Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Medical unit I of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, from July-December 2017. The sampling technique employed was nonprobability consecutive samplings. 95 patients with liver cirrhosis diagnosed earlier on clinical and investigations were included. Systolic dysfunction of the heart on Echocardiography was considered at EF<55% while decreased diastolic dysfunction was labeled when the E/A ratio was found to be <1. QTc and heart rate were calculated from lead II of ECG. proBNP levels were determined. Descriptive statistics were analyzed by software SPSS 20. RESULTS: Total 61 male and 34 female patients were registered. The mean age was 48.20±8.77 years. EF <55% was in 51.6% cases and E/A ratio <1 was in 42.1% cases. QTc>0.44 was in 47.4% cases and heart rate >100 was in 33.7% cases. The proBNP>93 pg/ml was observed in 77.4% male patients and >144 pg/ ml in 87.5% female patients. Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy was observed in 69.5% of patients and was not significantly associated with gender, age, duration of disease, and child Pugh class. CONCLUSION: Although there is a considerably high frequency of cardiomyopathy in cirrhotic patients, its presence, generally, is not realized and, thus, due attention is not given. Highlighting its high frequency, its need for workup and treatment may improve the quality of life of these patients.