Location: Cuyahoga County, Greater Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, Ohio, Midwest, United States, North America; Population: 18,800; Latitude: 41Â° 31' 9.2 (41.5192Â°) north; Longitude: 81Â° 27' 28.4 (81.4579Â°) west; Elevation: 1,089 feet (332 meters)
If your doctor says you have high enzymes, he is referring to an elevated liver enzyme level. High enzymes in your liver indicate damage to the cells or inflammation in your liver. Inflamed liver cells leak higher-than-normal amounts of liver enzymes into the bloodstream. This results in higher-than-normal enzyme level on your blood test. Several diseases result from high enzyme levels.
A high AST level often means there is some liver damage, but it is not necessarily caused by hepatitis C. A high AST with a normal ALT may mean that the AST is coming from a different part of the body. It is important to realize that the AST level in most patients with hepatitis C goes up and down.