Cardiac and Liver Disease in Children: Implications for Management Before and After Liver Transplantation

Abstract

There is close interaction between the functions of the liver and heart affecting the presentation, diagnosis, and outcome of acute and chronic cardiac and liver disease. Conditions affecting both organ systems should be considered when proposing transplantation because the interaction between cardiac disease and liver disease has implications for diagnosis, management, selection for transplantation, and, ultimately, for longterm outcomes after liver transplantation (LT). The combination of cardiac and liver disease is well recognized in adults but is less appreciated in pediatric patients. The focus of this review is to describe conditions affecting both the liver and heart and how they affect selection and management of LT in the pediatric population.

Editorial for “Free‐Breathing Volumetric Liver R2* and Proton‐Density Fat Fraction Quantification in Pediatric Patients Using Stack‐of‐ Radial MRI With Self‐Gating Motion Compensation”

“…3,4 Not only the risk of NAFLD and related complications need to be considered in children, but also genetic and metabolic conditions, as well as preparation and follow-up of liver transplantation, especially in the presence of multiorgan involvement. 5 In this complex landscape of pediatric liver disease and related metabolic disorders, it is crucial to develop noninvasive methods as alternatives to liver biopsy for the diagnosis, and perhaps more important, the monitoring of disease progression.…”

“…Additionally, multiple studies have shown the long‐term predictive role of increased childhood body mass index for adult‐age cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma 3,4 . Not only the risk of NAFLD and related complications need to be considered in children, but also genetic and metabolic conditions, as well as preparation and follow‐up of liver transplantation, especially in the presence of multiorgan involvement 5 …”