Liver Function Tests in Chronic Congestive Heart Failure

Abnormal liver function tests (LFTs) are known to be associated with impaired clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients. However, this implication varies with each single LFT panel. We aim to evaluate the long-term outcomes of acute HF (AHF) patients by assessing multiple LFT panels in combination. From a prospective multicenter registry in Japan, 1158 AHF patients who were successfully discharged were analyzed (mean age, 73.9 ± 13.5 years; men, 58%). LFTs (i.e., total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase) at discharge were assessed; borderline and abnormal LFTs were defined as 1 and ≥2 parameter values above the normal range, respectively. The primary endpoint was composite of all-cause death or HF readmission. At the time of discharge, 28.7% and 8.6% of patients showed borderline and abnormal LFTs, respectively. There were 196 (16.9%) deaths and 298 (25.7%) HF readmissions during a median 12.4-month follow-up period. The abnormal LFTs group had a significantly higher risk of experiencing the composite outcome (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.51, 95% confidence interval: 1.08–2.12, p = 0.017), whereas the borderline LFTs group was not associated with higher risk of adverse events when referenced to the normal LFTs group. Among AHF patients, the combined elevation of ≥2 LFT panels at discharge was associated with long-term adverse outcomes.

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Prognostic Implication of Liver Function Tests in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Without Chronic Hepatic Diseases: Insight From TOPCAT Trial

Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine ◽

10.3389/fcvm.2021.618816 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Weihao Liang ◽

Xin He ◽

Dexi Wu ◽

Ruicong Xue ◽

Bin Dong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Liver Function ◽

Ejection Fraction ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Primary Outcome ◽

Prognostic Significance ◽

Liver Function Tests ◽

Preserved Ejection Fraction ◽

Hepatic Diseases ◽

Function Tests

Background: Liver dysfunction is prevalent in patients with heart failure (HF), but the prognostic significance of liver function tests (LFTs) remains controversial. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) had been introduced for some time, but no previous study had focused on LFTs in HFpEF. Thus, we aim to evaluate the prognostic significance of LFTs in well-defined HFpEF patients.Methods and Results: We conveyed a post-hoc analysis of the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist Trial (TOPCAT). The primary outcome was the composite of cardiovascular mortality, HF hospitalization, and aborted cardiac arrest, and the secondary outcomes were cardiovascular mortality and HF hospitalization. In Cox proportional hazards models, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were not associated with any of the outcomes. On the contrary, increases in total bilirubin (TBIL) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were associated with increased risks of the primary outcome [TBIL: adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.17; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08–1.26; ALP: adjusted HR, 1.12; 95% CI 1.04–1.21], cardiovascular mortality (TBIL: adjusted HR, 1.16; 95% CI 1.02–1.31; ALP: adjusted HR, 1.16; 95% CI 1.05–1.28), and HF hospitalization (TBIL: adjusted HR, 1.22; 95% CI 1.12–1.33; ALP: adjusted HR, 1.12; 95% CI 1.03–1.23).Conclusion: Elevated serum cholestasis markers TBIL and ALP were significantly associated with a poor outcome in HFpEF patients without chronic hepatic diseases, while elevated ALT and AST were not.

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