Disturbance of Liver Function Tests on Chronic Congestive Heart Failure

• Published in: Nippon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi. Japanese Journal of Geriatrics Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 293 - 298
• Main Authors: Keida, Yoshihide, Takegoshi, Kunio, Fukazawa, Toshio, Ueda, K., Shimada, Hiroyuki, Matsuda, Tamotsu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: The Japan Geriatrics Society 30.05.1982
• Subjects: Chronic congestive heart failure; DIC; liver dysfunction; shock
• ISSN: 0300-9173
• DOI: 10.3143/geriatrics.19.293

The incidence, severity and mechanism of disturbance of liver function tests in chronic congestive heart failure was analized clinically and pathologically on 92 cases, admitted to the C.C.U., of whom about 70% showed severe heart failure of class 3 or 4 by the classification of NYHA. The incidence of disturbance of liver function tests was the highest on ICG, followed by test of GOT, LDH and Alp, and the incidence of elevation of bilirubin, observed in the half of the cases, was the lowest. Most of the cases showed mild to moderate disturbance of liver function tests, and as for GOT, for example, 80% of the cases showed lower than 100 I.U., while, 10% of the cases showed more than 200 I.U.. Histologically, the level of GOT was correlated well with the centrilobular necrosis rather than congestions of the liver. The level of GOT, supposed to be the marker of liver damage, showed the tendency of elevation with the severity of congestive heart failure expressed by the grading of NYHA. However, on individual cases, level of GOT did not correlated with cubital venous pressure and only minor degree correlated negatively with arterial oxygen content. Most of cases with GOT more than 200 I.U. were complicated with shock and/or DIG, and it was suggested that the complication of the general or localized circulatory disturbance on congestive heart failure was one of the important causes of the severe liver damage.