When something damages the liver, scar tissue begins to form. This scarring is called fibrosis. It happens little by little over many years. When the entire liver is scarred, it shrinks and gets hard. This is called cirrhosis. Any illness that damages the liver may lead to fibrosis and, eventually, cirrhosis. It’s important to note that cirrhosis is caused by chronic (long-term) liver diseases that damage liver tissue.
Cirrhosis prevents the liver from performing its vital functions. Liver cancer can also develop in a liver with cirrhosis.
causes
Cirrhosis can have many causes. Some of the main ones include:
- Viral infections caused by chronic viral hepatitis
- Long-term and heavy consumption of alcohol
- Fatty liver disease
- Biliary tract diseases, such as primary biliary cholangitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis
- Inherited diseases, such as Wilson disease and hemochromatosis
- Toxic hepatitis, caused by severe reactions to prescription drugs or prolonged exposure to environmental toxins.
- Metabolic disease, such as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, galactosemia and glycogen storage disorders
- Repeated bouts of heart failure with liver congestions
- Biliary atresia
stages of cirrhosis
Cirrhosis can be divided into 2 stages, compensated cirrhosis and decompensated cirrhosis.
For most people, cirrhosis progresses (or gets worse) over time, but if the main cause of cirrhosis is treated, such as eliminating hepatitis C or quitting alcohol, it can help a lot.
- Compensated cirrhosis – People with compensated cirrhosis may live many years without being aware that their liver is scarred. It often has few symptoms, as your liver still has enough healthy liver cells to do its job, despite severe scarring.
- Decompensated cirrhosis – People with decompensated cirrhosis will experience symptoms and complications due to the progression of cirrhosis. At this stage, your liver does not have enough healthy liver cells to do its job.
