Data collection
In total, consecutive 39 subjects with cirrhosis who were being followed up at the Istanbul Training and Research Hospital in the Gastroenterology department between December 2019 and February 2020 were enrolled in this prospective, cross-sectional study. The control cohort was composed of 41 age- and sex-matched healthy participants. In the study, the exclusion principles were as the following: patients with a known congenital cardiac disease, connective tissue disorders, HIV, LV (left ventricular) systolic or diastolic (> grade II) dysfunction, moderate-to-severe heart valve disorders, chronic lung disorder, chronic thromboembolic PAH, chronic renal disorder, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, insufficient imaging quality, and were using medical treatment or illegal drugs accused of PAH etiopathogeneses. Baseline clinical properties, such as age, gender, and BMI (body mass index), and the etiology of cirrhosis for all patients were recorded. For each patient, we calculated the severity of cirrhosis using the MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease), MELD-Na and CTP (Child-Turcotte-Pugh) scores (Table 1 ). The clinical conditions of all cases (whether clinically compensated or decompensated) were noted.
This prospective, cross-sectional study protocol was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. A written informed consent form was obtained from all subjects.