Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Aug 15;10(3):201-206.
eCollection 2020.

The impact of infection with hepatitis C virus on cardiovascular risk

Roua A Iorga  1 , Nicolae Bacalbasa  2   3 , Ovidiu G Bratu  2   4   5 , Florentina Ionita Radu  6 , Camelia C Diaconu  1   2
Affiliations
Review

The impact of infection with hepatitis C virus on cardiovascular risk

Roua A Iorga et al. Am J Cardiovasc Dis. .

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a systemic disease, with a natural progression to hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, and finally, cirrhosis, with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Besides the hepatic alterations, the systemic manifestations of chronic HCV infection, such as endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis, oxidative stress, insulin resistance, immunological alterations, are nowadays recognized as cardiovascular risk factors. Hepatitis C is associated with insulin resistance and increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, carotid atherosclerosis and stroke, coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure, with a significant impact on the mortality and morbidity. This article represents an overview of the most prevalent and important systemic alterations of chronic HCV infection, with emphasis on their cardiovascular and metabolic effects due to a treatable disease.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus; cardiovascular risk; diabetes mellitus; insulin resistance; metabolic syndrome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

References

    1. Polaris Observatory HCV Collaborators. Global prevalence and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in 2015: a modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;2:161–176. - PubMed
    1. Adinolfi LE, Rinaldi L, Nevola R. Chronic hepatitis C, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease: what impact of direct-acting antiviral treatments? World J Gastroenterol. 2018;24:4617–4621. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Domont F, Cacoub P. Chronic hepatitis C virus infection, a new cardiovascular risk factor? Liver Int. 2016;36:621–627. - PubMed
    1. Huang YW, Yang SS, Fu SC, Wang TC, Hsu CK, Chen DS, Hu JT, Kao JH. Increased risk of cirrhosis and its decompensation in chronic hepatitis C patients with new-onset diabetes: a nationwide cohort study. Hepatology. 2014;60:807–814. - PubMed
    1. Adinolfi LE, Restivo L, Guerrera B, Sellitto A, Ciervo A, Iuliano N, Rinaldi L, Santoro A, Li Vigni G, Marrone A. Chronic HCV infection is a risk factor of ischemic stroke. Atherosclerosis. 2013;231:22–26. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources