Diastolic Dysfunction in Patients With End-Stage Liver Disease is Associated With Development of Heart Failure Early After Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation (LTx) is a life-saving treatment of end-stage liver disease. Cardiac complications including heart failure (HF) are among the leading causes of death after LTx. The aim is to identify clinical and echocardiographic predictors of developing HF after LTx. Patients who underwent LTx at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) between January 2001 and January 2009 and had echocardiographic study before and within 6 months after transplantation were identified. Patients with coronary artery disease (>70% lesion) were excluded. HF after LTx was defined by clinical signs, symptoms, radiographic evidence of pulmonary congestion, and echocardiographic evidence of left ventricular dysfunction (left ventricle ejection fraction