Contents
What is cirrhosis of the liver?
Cirrhosis of the liver – an extensive lesion of the organ, in which tissue death occurs and their gradual replacement with fibrous fibers. As a result of substitution, nodes of various sizes are formed, which radically change the structure of the liver. The result is a gradual decrease in the functionality of the body up to a complete loss of efficiency. This leads to a deterioration in the quality of life of the patient and his further death.
It is the liver that cleanses the body of harmful substances, synthesizes fats, carbohydrates, proteins, participates in digestion, produces albumins, etc. Therefore, the defeat of the hepatic lobules, consisting of hepatocytes, and their degeneration is a formidable disease for the body of both men and women .
More often pathology is diagnosed in men than in women. There is no strict age limit, but the disease mainly affects people aged 40 years and older.
How long can you live with cirrhosis of the liver?
The disease has a different prognosis. With adequate treatment, which was started in a timely manner, it is possible to stop the progression of the pathological process. The presence of concomitant diseases, complications, a person’s lifestyle, and the stage of cirrhosis also play a role.
With the preserved functional capabilities of hepatocytes, if a person reconsiders his lifestyle and adheres to the therapeutic regimen prescribed by a doctor, survival for seven or more years is 50% of the total number of patients. Such a favorable prognosis is appropriate in relation to the compensated form of the disease.
With a subcompensated form, the average life expectancy is about 5 years. This is due to the fact that hepatocytes are gradually depleted and their number becomes insufficient for the normal functioning of the organ.
Among patients at the stage of decompensation, no more than 40% of people live for three years. This is due to the development of serious complications, which are often incompatible with life.
In addition, there are specially developed systems for calculating the prognosis for survival in cirrhosis according to certain criteria. Among these are the Child-Pugh predictive system, the Cox proportional hazard model, and others. All of them are based on certain indicators of the health of a person with cirrhosis (the etiology of the disease, the effectiveness of treatment, the presence of jaundice, neurological disorders, ascites, dilation of the veins of the esophagus, etc.) and make it possible to make a more or less correct prognosis in each specific case.
The first signs of cirrhosis of the liver
It is not always possible to suspect the presence of the disease by early signs, since in 20% of cases it proceeds latently and does not manifest itself in any way. Moreover, in another 20% of patients, pathology is detected only after death. However, in the remaining 60%, the disease still manifests itself.
Therefore, among the early symptoms indicating cirrhosis, the following can be noted:
Periodically arising pains with localization in the right hypochondrium. They tend to increase after increased physical exertion or after taking fatty and fried foods, alcoholic beverages;
There is a feeling of bitterness and dryness in the mouth, especially often in the morning;
A person may be disturbed by periodic stool disorders, increased flatulence;
The patient loses some weight, becomes irritable, gets tired faster;
Some forms of the disease, such as postnecrotic cirrhosis, manifest themselves in the form of jaundice already in the early stages of development.
In some cases, the disease manifests itself acutely and there are no early signs.
[Video] Dr. Berg – How to recognize cirrhosis of the liver in the early stages?