Abstract: Objective To observe the changes of left ventricular function in patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis and alcoholic cirrhosis before and after the standard isometric grip test, and to evaluate the left ventricular function reserve of patients in these two groups under stress. Methods Sixty patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis and 62 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were selected in this study. The two groups of patients were further divided into Child A group and Child B+C group according to Child-Pugh classification. Standard isometric grip test was carried out to measure the left ventricular Tei index of patients before and after the load test, and analyze the difference of cardiac function between the two groups of patients before and after the load test. Results 1. The Tei index of patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis (0.43±0.03 vs 0.45±0.07) and alcoholic cirrhosis (0.44±0.05 vs 0.46±0.08) before and after the experiment had statistical significance (P<0.05). 2. There was no statistical difference in Tei index before and after the experiment in Child A group, Child B+C group of patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis and Child A group of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (P>0.05). However, there was statistical difference in Tei value before and after the experiment in Child B+C group of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (0.44±0.04 vs 0.47±0.07) (P<0.05). Conclusion While the cardiac structure and function of patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis and alcoholic cirrhosis are roughly the same at rest, the cardiac function of patients in both groups has decreased after stress test. There has application value of stress echocardiography in reflecting left heart function reserve under stress in patients with liver cirrhosis, and the cardiac reserve function of patients with decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis has decreased more significantly.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, Left heart function, Tei index, Exercise stress, echocardiography