According to an article published by the American Academy of Family Physicians on its website, about 25,000 deaths occur in the U.S. each year because of chronic liver failure. The paper cites cirrhosis and chronic liver failure as the 12th-leading cause of death in the United States. Most causes of liver failure are preventable.
Alcohol Abuse
The American Academy of Family Physicians says 60 percent to 70 percent of liver failure is due to cirrhosis secondary to alcohol consumption. Patients with alcoholic liver disease have a higher mortality rate than other chronic liver failure patients. Cirrhosis of the liver refers to a progressive, diffuse fibrosis of the normal liver tissue. The healthy liver needs normal tissue in order to filter daily toxins, process amino acids, make clotting factors and process medications. Disruption of the tissue impairs the liver's ability to process and filter. The consequences are ascites, variceal bleeding due to portal hypertension and hepatic encephalopathy. Ascites is the leaking of fluid from the vasculature due to high pressure on the inside of the vessels. This high pressure results from a backup in the portal vein, which takes blood away from the liver and results in high pressure. This is also the reason for variceal bleeding or bleeding of enlarged veins in and around the esophagus.
Hepatitis B
Chronic hepatitis B is thought to cause approximately 10 percent of liver failure. According to HepB.org, there are 12 million people infected with hepatitis B. Of those people, 1 million suffer from chronic hepatitis; 5,000 Americans die from complications of hepatitis B every year. Hepatitis describes the inflammatory condition of the liver when infected with the hepatitis virus. Symptoms of hepatitis B are flu-like symptoms that go away quickly; many patients don't know they have been infected. Severe symptoms include jaundice or yellowing of the eyes and skin, and nausea and vomiting. Chronic hepatitis B can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis. Hepatitis B is spread through sexual contact or exposure to blood and other body fluids. There is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis B.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is considered the most serious of the hepatitis diseases, according to the Mayo Clinic. Hepatitis C is an indolent virus; many people don't know they are infected until many years later, when liver problems start to develop. Hepatitis C is spread through blood contact and is associated with needle sharing in the drug community. Rarely, hepatitis C is spread through sexual contact. Symptoms of hepatitis C are flu-like when they exist. Complications include cirrhosis and liver cancer.
