An enlarged liver, or hepatomegaly, may signify a wide array of diseases that includes infection, heart conditions, genetic diseases, or cancers.
With the enlarged liver, other signs and symptoms will appear to point out the underlying disease.
There are several factors that may increase your risk of acquiring liver problems, including:
Most of the time, if you have a slightly enlarged liver, you won’t notice any symptoms. If it’s severely swollen, though, you may have:
Depending on the cause of your enlarged liver, you may notice symptoms like:
DIAGNOSIS
Your doctor will do a physical exam to see if your liver is larger than it should be. He may also order some blood tests to help figure out what’s causing it.
He might also try to get a better look at your liver by asking that you get some images made with these:
RECOMMENDED MEDICATIONS
Treatment for an enlarged liver varies, depending on condition that’s causing it. Some of the most common causes, including alcoholic hepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, improve dramatically with alcohol abstinence, a healthy diet, regular exercise and weight loss.
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