Impact of diastolic dysfunction on exercise capacity in patients with liver cirrhosis

Background: Liver cirrhosis may cause left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD). It is not known if this has an impact on physical capacity. Aims: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of LVDD and its impact on physical capacity in a prospective cohort of patients with cirrhosis of all Child-Pugh (CP) stages. Methods: Patients were enrolled between 2011 and 2016. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing-derived peak VO2, 6min walk test (6MWT), echocardiography, laboratory testing and lung function testing were performed. Patients with LVEF Results: In our 197 patients (male N=146, age 56±10yrs, CPA N=92, CPB N=80, CPC N=25) peakVO2 was 71%(57-92) in CPA, 50%(40-60) in CPB and 42%(35-54) in CPC, p Conclusions: Advanced LVDD is a rare finding in patients with cirrhosis. Although the biomarker of cardiac strain (NTproBNP) is significantly correlated with physical capacity, the presence of LVDD is not.