Abstract
Liver test abnormalities have a prognostic value in patients with chronic heart failure. While the diagnosis of liver damage is based on data from laboratory investigations, routine biochemistry is not sensitive enough to assess the complex processes occurring in hepatocytes.
In hepatology, the methacetin breath test is used for exact measurement of microsomal hepatocyte function. No systematic study of metabolic liver function has been conducted to date in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).
A pilot study of patients with systolic heart failure showed significantly impaired metabolic liver function in patients with uncontrolled chronic heart failure. The degree of damage in these patients was consistent with the decrease in microsomal hepatocyte function in liver cirrhosis patients.
By contrast, in patients with stable CHF, the metabolic function was assessed as normal and comparable with that in a control group