liver and gallbladder disorders
Ischemic Hepatitis
Introduction
Ischemic hepatitis is damage throughout the liver caused by an inadequate blood or oxygen supply. Heart or respiratory failure may reduce the blood flow or oxygen supply to the liver. People feel nauseated and vomit, and the liver may be tender and enlarged. Doctors may do imaging tests to look for the cause. Doctors treat the condition that is reducing blood flow to the liver. (See also Overview of Blood Vessel Disorders of the Liver .) In ischemic hepatitis, liver cells are damaged or die because the liver does not receive enough blood or oxygen. Ischemic hepatitis differs from other types of hepatitis. Usually, “hepatitis” implies inflammation of the liver, which can have many causes, most commonly a virus (as in Overview of Hepatitis ). However, in ischemic hepatitis, the liver is not inflamed. Rather, liver cell death (necrosis) occurs. The term hepatitis is used because technically, it refers to any disorder in which liver enzymes called aminotransferases leak from damaged liver cells into the blood. 