title: A distinctive perivenular hepatic lesion associated with heart failure.
abstract: Hepatic morphologic changes in seven patients in heart failure who were initially thought to have hepatitis are reported. In each instance, percutaneous liver biopsy or post mortem tissue examination disclosed a striking lesion involving all perivenular areas, with replacement of hepatocytes by erythrocytes. Four patients were in pure left-heart failure, while three were in biventricular failure. Upon treatment of the heart failure, the conditions of all patients improved clinically, and liver-function tests returned to normal or near normal. In two patients who later had refractory heart failure and died, there was no evidence of hepatic-vein thrombosis or occlusion post-mortem. A hypothesis is offered for the pathogenesis of this lesion, and its clinico-pathologic differential is discussed.
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*