A clinical case of cardiogenic liver cirrhosis in a patient with congenital heart disease

Introduction. Liver cirrhosis can develop resulting from chronic heart failure, which can be caused by various

heart defects. This condition is called “cardiogenic cirrhosis.” There are types of palliative surgery for congenital heart

defects. Blalock operation is a surgical procedure used to correct certain congenital heart defects. It involves creating

a shunt between the artery that exits the heart and the pulmonary artery to improve blood supply to the lungs. Fontan

procedure is used to surgically treat certain types of congenital heart defects, especially those associated with right-

sided cardiac flow; it is conventionally used in children with conditions, such as tetralogy of Fallot or single-chamber

heart. However, these interventions can lead to chronic venous hypertension, which often causes severe complications,

including liver damage with progressive fibrosis. Aim. To present a clinical case of a patient with cardiogenic liver cirrhosis.

Materials and Methods. Patient A., 39 years old, female, was hospitalized in the gastroenterology department of the

Republican Clinical Hospital of Kazan with a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis of mixed etiology. It became known from the

medical history that the patient has a congenital heart defect corrected by surgical interventions in her childhood (Blalock,

Fontan). Considering the increasing edema and pronounced weakness, the patient was admitted for examination and

therapy correction based on the interdisciplinary approach. Results and Discussion. This clinical case demonstrates

the dynamics of clinical manifestations and laboratory and instrumental findings in a patient with congenital heart disease and advanced liver cirrhosis over several years. Conclusions. The case presented demonstrates the need for lifelong

multidisciplinary monitoring of liver function in patients after surgery for congenital heart disease.