The general status of the cardiovascular
system in portal cirrhosis has been referred
to in many excellent studies. It would appear
from these studies that moderate to
severe coronary arteriosclerosis is less common
in patients with portal cirrhosis up to
the age of 55 years than in patients without
portal cirrhosis.5 The incidence of hypertension
associated with portal cirrhosis has
been recorded as less than that in a similar
age group without portal cirrhosis,3,5,6 although
there is not complete agreement on
this point.4 Although not stated implicitly
in these studies, it is suggested that serious
heart disease may be less common in patients
with portal cirrhosis than in the normal population.
Materials and Methods
In order to assess the incidence and type of
heart disease in patients with portal cirrhosis, 108
consecutive patients who died with portal cirrhosis
and were autopsied were studied. It should be noted
that the patients did not all