Abstract: Objective To evaluate the cardiac functions in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension,and to analyze the risk factors affecting left ventricular diastolic dysfunctions. Methods A hundred and twenty-six patients with liver cirrhosis-induced portal hypertension were admitted to our Department of Gastroenterology. According to the Child-Pugh scores,these subjects were categorized into class A（n=76）,class B（n=41） and class C（n=9）,and based on the model for end-stage liver disease（MELD） scoring system,these subjects included MELD score≤9 points （n=64） and MELD score>9 points（n=62）. All patients received ultrasound,electrocardiogram and echocardiography （including pulse wave doppler and tissue doppler imaging）. The regression analysis was applied to find the relevant factors affecting diastolic dysfunctions. Results One patient（0.8%） was diagnosed with systolic dysfunction,and seventy-seven cases （61%） were diagnosed with diastolic dysfunctions. The abnormal electrocardiogram rate was 65%,and the extended propotion of corrected QT interval was 41%;There were no statistically significant differences between different Child-Pugh class or MELD groups as respect to above parameters;Age（OR=1.163,95% CI:1.086-1.244） and heart rate（OR=1.106,95% CI:1.018-1.201） were found to be the correlative risk factors affecting diastolic dysfunction by using Logistic regression analysis. Conclusion Cardiac function changes in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension mainly manifest in diastolic dysfunction and electrophysiological abnormalities,which have no relation with the severity of liver disease and massive ascites. As for the patients who are elderly and have an accelerated heart rates,we should focus on the necessity of diastolic function assessment because early diagnosis and intervention might improve the prognosis of these patients with liver cirrhosis.

Key words: Portal hypertension, Cardiac functions, Risk factors