“Semel in anno licet insanire”. At Christmas let’s let ourselves go, for the New Year’s dinner we give space to the throat, but we don’t carry on the celebrations for weeks. In the long run, the liver could be affected by an overdose of fats and alcohol that make it work too much and, especially in those who are overweight or have metabolic problems but not only, could put the heart at risk. Because even apparently slight hepatic suffering, which may be discovered due to some small alteration of the transaminases in the blood or from the characteristics of an ultrasound, could increase the dangers of ischemic heart disease. Even regardless of the presence of diabetes or other metabolic problems.
A research coordinated by Alan Kwanfrom the Cedars-Sinai Center’s Smidt Heart Institute published at Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. The study, for the first time, reports that even mild reports of liver fibrosis in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are associated with abnormalities in heart function, observable on MRI.
A “fatty” liver (also) puts the heart at risk
by Federico Mereta
What happens to the heart if the liver works badly
The link between liver health and heart health is very close. Just think that theAmerican Heart Association (AHA) recently reported that it is mainly cardiovascular pathologies and not liver diseases that cause death in those suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This investigation fully confirms the connections between the heart and the liver. As he recalls in the comments about him the same Kwan“the liver processes cholesterol and produces factors involved in blood clotting and inflammation, which can affect the heart.”
The research examined the electronic health records of the last 11 years of 1,668 grouped patients and evaluated their FIB-4 scores that indicate the presence of fibrosis related to cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. After considering the weight of any cardiovascular risk factors present, American experts have seen that more than eight out of ten people with liver problems also had heart-threatening situations. In fact, MRI allows you to identify subtle changes in the structure and function of the heart, in the size and structure of the vessels, as well as in the composition of the heart muscle. In particular, it has been seen that the vascular changes were connected in these subjects to an increase in the volume of the arteries leaving the heart and in the amount of blood in the circulation.
Do not add salt to reduce the risk of heart attack and heart failure
by Federico Mereta
Never forget the whole body
Expert advice is to also consider the liver when evaluating the cardiovascular situation. And above all, he remembers how important it is to try to counteract the fat filling of the “laboratory” of the organism.
The phenomenon is extremely widespread. In some cases there may be a genetic predisposition, given that the presence of particular characteristics of the gene responsible for adiponutrin would favor a strong predisposition to have a fatty liver.
But it is above all the high-calorie diet, especially if combined with low physical activity, that represents an enemy for the health of the liver forced to overwork and lead to “stuffing” itself with adipose tissue. For this reason, those who are overweight have a much higher probability of developing fatty liver. And in these subjects, monitoring cardiac health appears to be fundamental. Also because fatty liver can be a manifestation of metabolic syndrome, a syndrome characterized by overweight/obesity, diabetes, hypertension, increased triglycerides, reduction of good cholesterol or HDL.
Heart door
Cenoni, watch out for meat: it can put your heart at risk
by Federico Mereta
How important is adherence to treatment for high cholesterol?
Given the role of the liver in cholesterol metabolism, those suffering from steatosis and at cardiovascular risk should avoid taking “holidays” from treatment to keep cholesterol down. Adherence to therapy represents one of the main challenges to overcome and on this front a multi-center clinical study, the largest ever carried out to date on the efficacy and safety of PCSK9 protein inhibitor drugs, was conducted by the research group led by Pasquale Perrone Filardi of the Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences of the Federico II University of Naples.
Research has demonstrated levels of adherence greater than 95% in patients treated with two anti-PCSK9 drugs, the protein that blocks the receptors that capture cholesterol, preventing its accumulation in the body. “We unfortunately know that with other traditional drugs, typically with statins, a large percentage of subjects, up to 50%, abandon the therapy one year after the prescription – comments the current President of the Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC). If this therapy is given in addition to conventional oral therapies, about three quarters of patients at high cardiovascular risk are able to reach the target established by current guidelines”.
If your cholesterol is high, be careful not to give up treatment
by Federico Mereta
