Hepatocardiac or Cardiohepatic Interaction: From Traditional Chinese Medicine to Western Medicine

Abstract

There is a close relationship between the liver and heart based on “zang-xiang theory,” “five-element theory,” and “five-zang/five-viscus/five-organ correlation theory” in the theoretical system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Moreover, with the development of molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and others, the Modern Medicine indicates the existence of the essential interorgan communication between the liver and heart (the heart and liver). Anatomically and physiologically, the liver and heart are connected with each other primarily via “blood circulation.” Pathologically, liver diseases can affect the heart; for example, patients with end-stage liver disease (liver failure/cirrhosis) may develop into “cirrhotic cardiomyopathy,” and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may promote the development of cardiovascular diseases via multiple molecular mechanisms. In contrast, heart diseases can affect the liver, heart failure may lead to cardiogenic hypoxic hepatitis and cardiac cirrhosis, and atrial fibrillation (AF) markedly alters the hepatic gene expression profile and induces AF-related hypercoagulation. The heart can also influence liver metabolism via certain nonsecretory cardiac gene-mediated multiple signals. Moreover, organokines are essential mediators of organ crosstalk, e.g., cardiomyokines link the heart to the liver, while hepatokines link the liver to the heart. Therefore, both TCM and Western Medicine, and both the basic research studies and the clinical practices, all indicate that there exist essential “heart-liver axes” and “liver-heart axes.” To investigate the organ interactions between the liver and heart (the heart and liver) will help us broaden and deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of both liver and heart diseases, thus improving the strategies of prevention and treatment in the future.