Cirrhosis is sometimes called end-stage liver disease. This simply means that it occurs after other stages of liver damage which can include inflammation (hepatitis), fatty deposits (steatosis), and increased stiffness and mild-scarring of the liver (fibrosis). Such liver damage can be due to alcoholism, infections, unhealthy lifestyle, bad nutrition or eating habits, severe injury, or other causes. That’s why it is so important to avoid any liver damage in the first place and to do everything to keep your liver healthy and functional. The liver means life, and you only have one of each!
Cirrhosis is classified as compensated or decompensated. Compensated cirrhosis is where the liver is coping with the damage and maintaining its important functions. Many people with compensated cirrhosis can feel quite well and live for many years without needing a liver transplant. Until a certain point, the liver can function relatively well even when it is quite severely damaged. Any further damage to the liver may be lethal though. In decompensated cirrhosis, the liver is not able to perform all its functions adequately. People with decompensated cirrhosis often suffer from serious symptoms and complications such as portal hypertension (high blood pressure within the vessel system travelling through the liver), bleeding varices (life-threatening bleeding from blood vessels in the oesophagus or stomach), ascites (accumulation of fluids in your belly, more specifically in the peritoneal cavity), severe infections, encephalopathy (cerebral failure), eventually leading to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), followed by multi-organ failure and death.
