Incidence of Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy among Hundred Patients of Tamil Nadu, India-A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Cardiac dysfunction in cirrhosis may affect quality of life, prognosis and also may aggravate the course in patients undergoing invasive procedures such as surgery, insertion of a Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunts (TIPS), and liver transplantation. Aim: To evaluate the association of cardiomyopathy in cirrhotic patients of Tamil Nadu region in India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 100 diagnosed cirrhotic patients. The patient's cardiac status was obtained from Electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography. Liver profile was obtained from biochemical assays and ultrasonography of abdomen. The patients were classified as per cirrhosis grading system, Child Toucotte Pugh (CTP) scoring. The association was analysed using frequency analysis, percentage analysis and Chi-square test. Results: Prolonged QTc (>0.44 sec) was seen in 35% of the study population (p-value-0.014). A 10% of patients had systolic dysfunction and 25% showed diastolic dysfunction. Also, these patients showed positive troponin T and elevated Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP). The incidence of cardiomyopathy in cirrhotic patients was 28% in this study. Conclusion: This study established 28% incidence of cardiomyopathy in cirrhotic patients. This association may further be evaluated in larger study samples to provide a better prognosis and quality of life in cirrhotic patients treated with liver transplantation or other surgical procedures.