Background and aim: Due to the increased mortality and danger of bleeding, the presence of esophageal varices (EV) ‎caused by portal hypertension is a serious concern in cirrhotic patients. 60–80% of newly ‎diagnosed cirrhotic patients have EV, and 5-15% of big EV cases experience their first variceal ‎bleeding within the first year. Our goal was to investigate the relationship between cardiac ‎dysfunction and endoscopic indicators of portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients‎.
Methods: ‎‎‎‎60 participants were included; 40 cirrhotic patients with oesophageal varices and 20 non-‎cirrhotic individuals with no evidence of portal hypertension in endoscopy (control group). ‎Complete blood count, liver and kidney functions, Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, ‎Electrocardiographic evaluation, and echocardiography were performed‎.‎
Results: The QTc interval, the LA volume, LV mass index, E-wave deceleration time, atrial flow ‎velocities, E/E′ ratio, and E/A ratio were significantly increased among cirrhotic patients ‎compared to controls. However, only the LA volume was substantially higher and E/E′ ratio ‎was considerably lower for patients with high-grade EV than those with low grades. ROC ‎curve to discriminate between cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic groups, the QTc interval, E-wave ‎deceleration time, and E/A ratio had the highest accuracy 93.7%, 96.1%, and 84.2% ‎respectively.  Likewise, discriminating patients with high-grade EV from those with low ones, ‎LA volume, E/È ratio, and QTc interval showed the highest accuracy at 75.6%, 70.9%, and ‎‎66.7% respectively with the sensitivity of 92.31, 100.0, and 76.92 respectively‎‎‎‎‎‎‎.
Conclusion: Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic examinations are valuable non-invasive ‎procedures that could evaluate cardiac dysfunction in cirrhotic patients and could help predict ‎EV‎ ‎‎‎‎‎.