Hepatic venous stasis index reflects hepatic congestion and predicts adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure

Abstract Background It has been reported that the hepatic vein waveforms determined by abdominal ultrasonography can assess hepatic congestion in heart failure (HF) patients. However, the parameter which quantifies hepatic vein waveforms has not been established. We suggest hepatic venous stasis index (HVSI) as the novel indicator to evaluate hepatic congestion quantitatively. To examine the clinical significance of HVSI in HF patients, we aimed to clarify the associations of HVSI with parameters of cardiac function and right heart catheterization (RHC), as well as that with prognosis, in patients with HF. Methods We performed abdominal ultrasonography, echocardiography and RHC in patients with HF (N = 513). The patients were divided into three groups based on HVSI as follows; HVSI 0 (HVSI = 0, N = 253), low HVSI (HVSI 0.01–0.20, N = 132) and high HVSI (HVSI > 0.20, N = 128) as shown in Figure 1. We examined the associations of HVSI with parameters of cardiac function and RHC, and followed up for cardiac events defined as cardiac death or worsening HF. Results There were significant correlations between HVSI and mean right atrial pressure (R = 0.244, P < 0.001), right ventricular fractional area change (R = -0.195, P < 0.001) and inferior vena cava diameter (R = 0.318, P < 0.001). During the follow-up period, cardiac events occurred in 87 patients. In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, cardiac event rate increased across increasing HVSI (log-lank, P = 0.002, Figure 2). In the multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis, high HVSI was independently associated with cardiac events (high HVSI group vs. HVSI 0 group: hazard ratio, 1.746; 95% confidence interval, 1.053–2.894, P = 0.031). Conclusions HVSI assessed by abdominal ultrasonography reflects hepatic congestion and right-sided HF, and is associated with adverse prognosis in HF patients.Figure 1Figure 2