Arterial wall structural changes in noncirrhotic chronic hepatitis C patients

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major overall health predicament. Patients with HCV infection may progress to hepatic and extrahepatic complications. There are emerging groups of data on accelerated vascular changes triggering subclinical atherosclerosis. Nevertheless, whether these changes are associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality is unclear. AIM: To determine subclinical arterial wall structural changes in noncirrhotic chronic hepatitis C patients and the impact of possible cofactors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-two patients with noncirrhotic chronic HCV and 42 healthy controls matched in terms of age and sex were subjected to clinical, biochemical, and imaging measures for the evaluation of arterial wall changes (aortic elasticity/stiffness and carotid intima-media thickness). Elasticity was evaluated by measuring the aortic diameter and pulse wave velocity. RESULTS: Nonsignificant greater mean aortic diameter was found among the cases than the control group (P = 0.67). The mean carotid intima-media thickness was quite similar in both groups (P = 0.12). The mean pulse wave velocity measures were twice those in the cases than the control group, indicating greater tendencies toward arterial stiffness among patients with HCV (P < 0.001). There was no significant relationship between any of the laboratory investigations (lipid and HCV-RNA values) and any of the vascular imaging investigations. CONCLUSION: Aortic diameter and aortic stiffness are increased among chronic hepatitis C patients than healthy controls; however, there is no significant difference in carotid intima thickness.