Portal Hypertension

Coverage includes chapters on the following: intrahepatic vascular resistance in cirrhosis; vasodilatation and hyperdynamic circulatory state in chronic liver disease; non-cirrhotic portal hypertension; and pathophysiology of sodium retention in cirrhosis.

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Major complications of chronic progressive liver diseases can be due to the development of portal hypertension, affecting millions of people worldwide each year. Marked progress made recently in the study of portal hypertension has made for a great expansion of knowledge which in turn has resulted in new and effective therapies. This publication is a review of the proceedings of a Symposium held at the Biennial Scientific Meeting of the International Association for the Study of the Liver (Cancun, Mexico, May 1994). The Symposium focused on three areas of portal hypertension: the basic mechanisms that lead to its development and consequences; its natural history; and the therapy of ascites and variceal haemorrhage.