Elevated liver enzymes can occur for many reasons.
Changes in liver function can impact nearly every bodily system.
Healthcare providers routinely check liver function to ensure this essential organ is functioning effectively.
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PeopleImages / Getty Images
What Are Liver Enzymes?
Liver enzymesare proteins that are made in your liver.
Their job is to help your liver metabolize nutrients and medications and filter out toxins.
There are several different liver enzymes:
What Are Elevated Liver Enzymes?
When theliveris injured or inflamed, it releases liver enzymes into the bloodstream.
Elevated liver enzymes could be temporary or brought on by something like medication use.
They could also indicate that you have a condition of the liver such as liver disease or hepatitis.
Liver enzymes are just one piece of the puzzle.
These include:
Individuals with particular medical conditions may also undergo routine liver tests.
Causes
Elevated liver enzymes alone don’t indicate a specific disease or condition.
Some individuals with elevated liver enzymes have no underlying cause and require no treatment.
Conversely, some individuals with severe liver impairment may have normal liver enzymes.
Potential causes of elevated liver enzymes include:
There are many other possible causes of elevated liver function.
Your healthcare provider can help you understand why your liver enzymes might be elevated.
What Medications Can Cause Elevated Liver Enzymes?
The liver helps process many different medications that may result in altered liver enzymes.
Treatment
Elevated liver enzymes are only a sign of a liver disorder, not a diagnostic tool.
Elevated liver enzymes may result from a temporary infection or medication usage that requires no treatment.
When this happens, they may do additional testing to find the cause.
How do you fix high liver enzymes?
Fixing high liver enzymes generally means treating the underlying cause of the condition.
This means there is no one treatment or lifestyle modification that can help lower your liver enzymes.
Additional Testing
There are several tests that can provide additional information about your elevated liver enzymes.
It’s also important to speak with your healthcare provider about any medication use, including herbal supplements.
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