Possibilities of ultrasound elastography in assessing liver damage in chronic heart failure

Abstract

The article presents the literature data on the possibilities of modern types of ultrasound elastography in hepatology and their application in various diffuse hepatic pathologies. The features and advantages of shear wave ultrasound elastography with elastometry are highlighted; the prognostic significance of this method in assessing the severity of hepatic fibrosis is presented. Among the publications, there are also noted the studies concerning the issues of elastography in cardiac liver damage in patients with chronic heart failure. The literature review showed that elastographic diagnostic methods are promising, since their sufficient informativeness was noted in the diagnosis of not only primary diffuse liver damage, but also in assessing the prognosis of the outcome of the disease. The most important advantages of elastography are speed and accessibility, non-invasiveness, possibility of primary diagnosis and assessment of the disease progression and the therapy effectiveness. At the same time, the possibilities of ultrasound elastography in general are still understudied and heir further study is relevant, especially the methods of two-dimensional elastography and shear wave elastometry for diagnosing cardiogenic liver damage in patients with chronic heart failure.