Metabolic associated fatty liver disease and cardiovascular risk: The expert opinion of the Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy of the Polish Cardiac Society

Abstract

The diagnosis of metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is significant for patients' prognosis, as the disease accelerates the development of cardiovascular complications and, on the other hand, cardiometabolic conditions are risk factors for the development of fatty liver diseases. This expert opinion presents principles of MAFLD diagnosis and standards of management to reduce cardiovascular risks in patients with MAFLD.

Echocardiographic screening for liver steatosis

“…As the evaluation of fatty liver may be of potential clinical value in patients with cardiovascular diseases [5,6], we decided to investigate the feasibility of echocardiography in diagnosing liver steatosis using HRI, as well as direct visual assessment. During echocardiography (GE Vivid 9) images of renal cortex and adjacent liver parenchyma were acquired using 1.7/3.3 MHz sector probe, from right lateral approach in supine position and stored on a dedicated workstation (GE Echopac).…”

MAFLD: from a disease framework to patient care

“…The latter divided patients with MAFLD into three relatively homogenous groups-those who had steatosis and were overweight or obese according to ethnic-specific BMI criteria, those who had type 2 diabetes, and those who were of healthy weight but had two or more specified metabolic risk criteria (Figure 1). Subsequently, in the same year, APASL published the first global consensus guidelines on MAFLD [3], which was rapidly followed by guidelines from other national and pannational societies and patient groups [4][5][6][7]. Since MAFLD can occur at any stage of the life span, a pediatric definition was introduced with age-appropriate criteria [8].…”