γ-Glutamyl Transferase as a Practical Predictor of Elevated Liver Stiffness in Heart Failure　- Findings From a Daily Clinical Setting.

Authors

Hirohito Sugawara, Marenao Tanaka, Toshiyuki Yano, Kiryu Yoshida, Yukishige Kimura, Azumi Matsui, Yukimura Higashiura, Tamaki Matsumoto, Kimio Nishisato, Mitsuhiro Nishimura, Masahiro Yamamoto, Hidetoshi Ito, Hiroaki Ogata, Masato Furuhashi

Published in

Circulation journal : official journal of the Japanese Circulation Society. Oct 29, 2026. Epub Oct 29, 2026.

Abstract

Liver stiffness assessed by liver elastography has been reported as useful for predicting hepatic congestion and outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). However, liver elastography is not widely available for patients with HF in routine clinical settings. We investigated whether simple biomarkers can predict elevation of liver stiffness.
In all, 52 hospitalized patients with HF were recruited to this study. The primary analysis examined the association between γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and liver stiffness in the overall study population. In multivariable linear regression analysis adjusted for age and sex, log-transformed GGT was independently associated with liver stiffness. This association remained significant in separate sensitivity analyses incorporating systolic and diastolic blood pressure, estimated glomerular filtration rate, N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide, ejection fraction, tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient, inferior vena cava diameter, inferior vena cava collapsibility index, and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor use. In exploratory analyses for the prediction of high liver stiffness (>7.1 kPa), the addition of GGT increased integrated discrimination improvement and improved the net reclassification index, whereas the change in the area under the curve was not statistically significant. Direct comparison between models including GGT and the Fibrosis-4 index did not show a significant difference.
GGT levels may provide a simple and clinically accessible signal associated with elevated liver stiffness in patients with HF and possible hepatic congestion.

PMID:
42951679
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.