Liver Failure and the Heart

The liver is a “venous reservoir” and metabolic factory in close proximity to the heart. Liver diseases can be responsible for heart failure, and any hemodynamic impairment can induce liver failure. This chapter reports the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and treatment of these interactions including hyperdynamic hemodynamic decompensation due to liver failure, cirrhotic cardiomyopathy, ischemic hepatitis, and the complex liver disease associated with the Fontan circulation.