• Anubhav Garg and William F Armstrong.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-5853, USA.
• JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2013 Jan 1;6(1):105-19.

AbstractInvolvement of the cardiovascular system in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) is well recognized and may be seen in several scenarios in adult liver transplantation (LT) candidates. The hemodynamic effects of ESLD may result in apparent heart disease, or in some instances may mask cardiac disease. Alternatively, cardiac disease can occasionally be the underlying etiology of ESLD. LT imposes significant hemodynamic stresses, with cardiovascular complications accounting for considerable perioperative mortality and morbidity. Pre-operative assessment of the cardiac status of LT candidates is thus critically important for risk stratification and management. Cardiac imaging plays an integral role in the assessment of LT candidates. In this review, we discuss the role of cardiac imaging, including transthoracic echocardiography with Doppler and contrast enhancement, noninvasive functional assessment for routine pre-operative assessment of coronary artery disease, and transesophageal echocardiography in select cases to aid in intra-operative fluid management and monitoring in LT candidates.Copyright © 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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