A doctor or specialist may decide to run a liver enzyme test if he suspects that there may be damage or disease of the liver. The patient may be exhibiting problematic signs or symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, stomach swelling, leg swelling and jaundice. Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin. Another symptom that may prompt a liver enzyme or liver function test is weight loss. Massive sudden weight loss may prompt a physician to run a special panel of tests that check the liver for how it functions. The liver is responsible for a variety of functions, so many enzymes are involved in its process.
The liver performs about 500 different processes in the body, so a problem with the liver can cause a host of other problems. Some of the functions that the liver is responsible for are manufacturing and breaking down proteins, storing vitamins, filtering the blood, facilitating immune activity, breaking down fat, producing bile and more. Diagnosing specific liver problems can be difficult, but the tests help to narrow the options down. Some of the enzymes that the test may look at are aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, L-lactate dehydrogenase, Gamma-glutamyltransferase and more. The doctor may find that some of these elements are raised. High levels of enzymes can be present for a number of reasons. The following are causes of elevated liver enzymes:
1. Overuse of Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen is the generic name for Tylenol. It can also be found in mixed pain medications such as Percocet and Vicodin. People often use it for general pain, headaches, menstrual cramps, fever an so on. The non-OTC versions of this medication are used for severe pain such as post-surgery pain. Some people may also use it with conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis and other painful conditions. It usually works well for mild or moderate pain, but its overuse can cause inflammation or damage to the liver. It’s important for a person to always take the recommended dosage of a drug only and not add anything extra.
The daily dose of straight acetaminophen should never exceed 3,000 milligrams. The manufacturers used to have that amount set to 4,000, but they changed the recommendation to 3,000, and it may have something to do with cases of liver damage. A patient’s doctor will talk to him or her about habits and home care. In other words, the doctor will ask the patient what kind of OTC care she uses for certain ailments. If the patient does not take acetaminophen or hardly takes it, then the specialist can rule out Tylenol usage as the reason for the elevated liver enzymes.
2. Alcohol Use
Alcohol takes a heavy toll on the liver, which is why many chronic drinkers and alcoholic persons have liver disease. Excessive alcohol use affects the liver’s vitamin K production, and it also hinders its filtering abilities and scars it. The doctor will ask the patient whether she drinks alcohol to try to rule that out as a cause of the elevated enzymes. Patients have to be very honest about their lifestyles to receive the appropriate diagnosis. Doctors may test for alcohol use if they feel the patient is not being forthcoming. However, it is possible that one can have a liver disease or a liver problem and not drink alcohol at all.
3. Heart Failure
Heart failure is a condition that can affect all of the organs, including the liver. The kidneys and the liver are the organs that the disease affects the most. When a person has heart failure, the heart no longer pumps enough blood to circulate to the organs so that they work properly. Many of those organs develop diseases because of that. The heart failure can cause fluid to accumulate in the liver, and that fluid can cause the liver to scar. Scarred livers will eventually fail. The name of the condition that comes from heart failure on the liver is called cardiac cirrhosis.
4. Hepatitis A, B, & C
Hepatitis is a term that means inflammation of the liver. This disease can be the cause of elevated liver enzymes. There are five types of hepatitis, but the three most common are A, B and C. Hepatitis A, or HAV, can be acquired by drinking contaminated water or performing certain sexual acts. However, the recovery outlook is good. Hepatitis B, or HBV, is transmitted through bodily fluids such as semen and blood. It can be spread by sex, transfusions, injections and so on. Hepatitis C, or HCV, is usually spread through contact with blood. All of these could be reasons for elevated liver enzymes.
5. Liver Cancer
Liver cancer is another unfortunate condition that can cause an elevated liver enzyme reading. The most common type of liver cancer is Hepatocellular carcinoma. The type usually begins as one tumor that continues to spread over time if no care is given. It can also develop as a series of nodules that populate throughout the liver. Other types of liver cancer are intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, hepatoblastoma, angiosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma and more. These conditions can cause a severely abnormal reading of the liver enzymes. Hepatoblastoma usually only affects children who are four years old or younger. It also has a very high recovery rate with chemotherapy.
6. Fatty Liver Disease
Fatty liver disease is a condition in which a person has extra fat in the liver. There are alcoholic and non-alcoholic causes of that condition. There is also a simple version of the condition that does not include an inflammation of the liver. The alcoholic version of the disorder can most likely be reversed if the person stops drinking alcohol immediately. The non-alcohol version of it may be a little tricky and thus may require further examination and an intricate recovery plan. Any of these conditions can trigger an offset of the enzymes and display an abnormality in the test results.
7. Obesity
Being overweight can be extremely detrimental to one’s liver. It can cause deposits of fat to build up inside the liver. It can also overwork the liver. Overworking the liver can cause scarring, and scarring can cause a further breakdown. It could get so bad that the liver goes into failure. Staying within a healthy weight range is the very best way to combat such issues. The person can also eat foods that regenerate the liver. Examples of such foods are foods like garlic, grapefruit, Brussel sprouts, apples and various green, leafy vegetables. Yogurt is good for regenerating the liver, as well.
8. Celiac Disease
An elevated liver enzyme issue can come from celiac disease. Celiac disease is a condition that makes it difficult for a person to eat certain foods. Specifically, foods that contain gluten would cause an adverse reaction. One of the best ways to manage this condition is to switch to a gluten-free diet. The high enzyme results are usually the first sign that a person has the disorder. The specialist would then investigate further to narrow down other causes of the liver enzyme. Because the liver is so large and crucial to the body, problem diagnosis may take a while to conclude. Those are eight potential causes of liver enzyme increases. Anyone who has this issue will have to be patient with the specialist as he tries to pinpoint the issue.
