Hepatitis C is a viral disease of the liver. It is caused by the hepatitis C virus. This disease is transmitted primarily through blood, and in such ways as sharing needles and syringes when using drugs, or other personal equipment, such as razors and toothbrushes. Even a microscopic drop of infected blood can cause an infection once the virus enters the body and travels to the liver. About 30 percent of the people who become infected spontaneously clear the virus out of the organism within six months, in which case the infection usually shows no symptoms.
The liver is one of the largest organs in our organism, and has a lot of functions, from storing vitamins, through processing food and toxins, to producing proteins and blood clotting factors. As the liver takes damage, it slowly loses the capacity to do everything it's supposed to do, and symptoms, such as jaundice or hives, start to show. Loss of liver function affects not only the liver, but other organs as well.
Chronic hepatitis C and the cardiovascular system
Although the hepatitis C virus primarily attacks the liver, the presence of viral RNA has been found both in the cells of the inner layer of blood vessels, and in the plaque inside those vessels, suggesting that the virus can "live" in those cells too. A chronic hepatitis C infection can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Infarction can happen in a number of different organs, and, if it happens in the heart, it is known as a "heart attack". Current studies suggest that people who have the chronic form of hepatitis C are a shocking three times more likely to develop atherosclerosis than people who aren't infected.
So, how does hepatitis C increase the risk of the heart disease? In more ways than one.
- Besides the cells in the liver, the hepatitis C virus can attack other cells as well, such as the cells on the inside of the blood vessels. The dysfunction of these cells can trigger a response from our immune system, which may start the plaque-building process. The infection also causes the levels of inflammatory proteins to rise, which amplifies the body's immune response even more.
- A hepatitis C infection increases the risk of coronary disease by messing with the way our cells communicate, too. The cells use micro RNA molecules to communicate and synchronize their actions. The hepatitis C virus alters this communication path, to use it to its advantage and regulate its own replication. The consequence of this interruption is a messed up lipid metabolism.
- A hepatitis C infection is considered a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, too. Diabetes, as well as the disbalance between the different types of lipids in our organism, are known to increase the risk of atherosclerosis.
- Lastly, a chronic hepatitis C infection can trigger an autoimmune reaction in our organism by rising the levels of certain molecules our immune cells use to communicate, resulting in vasculitis.
What can we do about it?
The situation with this condition is somewhat tricky. While hepatitis patients need antiviral medication to fight their chronic disease, the therapy only works in the liver, not in the other organs that can likewise be affected by hepatitis C. Antiviral therapy does reduce the risk of liver cancer or liver cirrhosis, and slows the progression of the disease, and in 95 percent it can even eliminate the virus from the organism. It does quite a lot of different things, in other words, but it has no effect on the blood vessels. Even if the therapy is successful, and the patient becomes virus free, the residual anti-HCV antibodies still pose a risk factor for the development of vascular diseases, as they can trigger an immune response in the blood vessels, leading to the forming of the plaque.
Not only that, the antiviral therapy changes the level of certain lipids in our serum in such a way that it can promote the formation of dangerous plaque in the blood vessels. The only thing that we can do about this condition is to monitor the patient, and to adjust the diet accordingly by eating a low fat diet, and to control their body weight.