The Development of Cirrhosis of the Liver And What You Need To Know

We are all familiar with the devastating effects of heavy alcohol abuse on the body – including development of addiction, shrinking capacity of the brain, poor sleep, and so on. It also leads to deteriorating mental health, especially as you grow older.

However, there is one effect that seems to be lost in translation – the onset of liver diseases such as Hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver. These are mainly silent conditions, as you may not know your liver is developing the disease until it is too late to save it. Being an important organ in your body, the liver needs all the help it can get in maintaining your health, but alcohol abuse jeopardizes this goal, and consequently, your long term health.

What is cirrhosis of the liver?

Cirrhosis of the liver is a condition that involves abnormal functioning and structure of the liver. The job of your liver is to break down proteins, filter out toxins from the blood, as well as helping in the digestion of fats through creating bile. When you drink alcohol heavily over the course of several years, the liver tissue becomes replaced with scar tissue, leading to the development of cirrhosis.

As the body continues to replace healthy tissue with the scar tissue, it eventually leads to the stoppage of liver functions, leading to extensive illnesses.

The disease is very common among heavy drinkers, and according to statistics from the ALF (American Liver Foundation), 10 to 20 percent of these individuals will develop the illness. Among liver diseases, alcohol cirrhosis is the most advanced form of liver disease, and is part of a progression. This means that it can start as fatty liver disease, progresses to alcoholic hepatitis, then eventually becomes alcoholic cirrhosis.

Symptoms of  cirrhosis of the liver

The signs of cirrhosis of the liver will not usually develop from the beginning, as the body starts to compensate for the limited functioning of the liver while the disease is in its early stages. The illness likely develops when an individual is between the ages of 30 to 40. As the disease continues to develop, more symptoms become noticeable.

The symptoms will bear some similarities to other liver disorders, since they include the onset of jaundice, hypertension in the vein that leads to the liver, and pruritus or skin itching. Other signs include loss of your normal appetite levels, weakness, fatigue, and easily bruising of your skin because blood clotting proteins decrease in production (due to liver damage).

The causes of alcoholic cirrhosis

The repetitive damage from heavy alcohol intake will make the liver tissue begin to scar, and makes the liver not work as efficiently as it did before. That also means that the filtering functions of the liver become compromised, because the body stops filter toxins out of the blood and producing sufficient proteins.

Cirrhosis of the liver is generally caused by a variety of reasons, but alcoholic cirrhosis is specifically related to drinking too much alcohol. If you have drank heavily for a period lasting at least eight years, then you are at a higher risk of developing the condition. Heavy drinking on the other hand, means you have drank more than four drinks per day on at least five days in a month.

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Alcohol abuse isn’t the only thing that causes cirrhosis though. Other forms of cirrhosis of the liver include one that is caused by the building up of fat in the liver. This is referred to as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These reasons include coronary artery disease and Type II diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

The risk of developing the illness is higher in women, since they do not have as many enzymes in their stomach to break down the particles of alcohol. Because of this, more alcohol is able to travel to the liver and make more scar tissue.

There could also be genetic factors involved in the development of cirrhosis of the liver, such as being born with lower enzyme levels that are responsible for breaking down alcohol. In addition, consuming a high fat diet, obesity, and the development of hepatitis C will also raise your risk of developing alcoholic liver diseases.

Diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver

The first thing a doctor will do when they want to diagnose the condition is examining your medical history, and that includes asking you how long you have been drinking. They will also run some tests to confirm you have cirrhosis of the liver.

The results of the exams will reveal high levels of blood pressure, anemia (because of low iron levels in the blood), leukocytosis (an abnormally high number of white blood cells), high levels of ammonia in the blood, high levels of blood sugar, and unhealthy liver tissue when biopsy samples are removed and examined in a lab.

They will also notice low magnesium, sodium and potassium levels in the blood, as well as liver enzyme blood tests that show ALT (alanine aminotransferase) is lower than AST (aspartate aminotransferase), and hypertension in the portal vein (leads to the liver).

The stages cirrhosis of the liver

You may not be aware of it, but cirrhosis of the liver develops in two stages – decompensated and compensated. The compensated stage does not involve any physical symptoms, since there are sufficient cells of the liver that are healthy and can replace damaged tissue. The body will use them to make up for the scar tissue and ensure the liver continues its operations.

However, when you do not treat the cause and continue an unhealthy lifestyle, the disease progresses to the decompensated stage – and that is when the symptoms start to appear. The healthy cells cannot keep up with the damage any longer, and the liver is often too late to save at this stage.

The treatment usually involves knowing the cause of the problem and the extent of the illness. If it is due to alcohol, then the person must stop their intake. If hepatitis or non-alcoholic liver disease is the reason, then you are given medication and lose weight.

Final thoughts

The final outlook of your long term health depends on the state of your liver, so it is important to know if there are additional complications related to cirrhosis of the liver – even when you have stopped taking alcohol.