Congestive (cardiac) cirrhosis
Sekiyama, T.; Nagano, T.; Aramaki, T.
Nihon Rinsho. Japanese Journal of Clinical Medicine 52(1): 229-233
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0047-1852 PMID: 8114298 Document Number: 438910
As the incidence of cardiac cirrhosis at autopsy today is much lower than that from decades ago, true cardiac cirrhosis is a rare finding. With the decline in incidence of valvular disease, cardiomyopathy, in the etiology of congested liver, has increased. The pathophysiology of congestive heart failure consists of two components: forward failure with decreased hepatic blood flow and backward failure with congestive liver. Both lead to hepatocellular hypoxia. Increased serum transaminases and serum bilirubin correlate with reduction in cardiac output and elevation of venous pressure. Even when cardiac cirrhosis develops, it is difficult to diagnose clinically.