Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic liver disease characterised by cholestasis. Recent MRI studies have confirmed the presence of cardiac abnormalities in non-cirrhotic PBC patients. However cardiorespiratory consequences of these abnormalities have not been explored. Thoracic fluid content (TFC) is a non-invasive bio-electrical impedance measure of the electrical conductivity of the chest cavity. We explored TFC and its relationship with cardiac contractility parameters in early stage PBC patients, compared to chronic liver disease and community controls. Methods: TFC was measured in early stage PBC (non-cirrhotic; n=78), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD; n=23) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC; n=18) and a community control population (n=78). Myocardial contractility was measured as index of contractility (IC), acceleration index (ACI), cardiac index (CI), stroke index (SI), Left Ventricular Ejection Time (LVET) and left ventricular work index (LVWI). We also measured total arterial compliance (TAC) and the Heather Index (HI; cardiac inotropy). Results: The PBC group had significantly lower TFC compared to controls and the chronic liver disease groups (p<0.0001). There was an association between increasing TFC and markers of cardiac function (CI, SI, EDI , IC and ACI), together with indicators of cardiac inotropy (HI) and total arterial compliance (TAC). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the only parameter that independently associated with TFC was the marker of cardiac inotropy HI (p=0.037; Beta 0.5). Conclusion: This study has confirmed that TFC is reduced in those with PBC, that this is specific to PBC and that it associates independently with markers of cardiac inotropy.