Mathematical model analysis of hepatitis C with cardiac side effects before, during, and after receiving direct acting antivirals treatment

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne infection that can lead to liver failure, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are a relatively new therapeutic approach, the most efficient and safest hepatitis C treatment. However, DAAs can have divergent effects on heart health. The side effects of DAAs on the heart are called cardiotoxicity. Therefore, we built a mathematical model based on hepatitis C patients, showed the positivity and boundedness of the system solution, and determined the equilibrium point and its stability by exploiting the Routh Hurwitz criteria, which established an asymptotically stable equilibrium point. Finally, we performed numerical simulations to evaluate these results.