What baby boomers need to know about Hepatitis C

For Patients

Ask your doctor about getting tested for the Hepatitis C virus today. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a liver disease that could be affecting your health.75% of adults infected with HCV are baby boomers. Most of them don’t even know they’re infected, since often there are no symptoms. But over the years, the virus can do serious damage to the liver. So knowing if you are infected is the first step to getting treatment that could delay or prevent liver damage.

What you need to know about HCVHCV is a “silent” disease. Most people with HCV have no symptoms. They can be infected for years or even decades before symptoms show up. By that time, they may have serious liver damage. When symptoms do occur, they can seem nonspecific. These symptoms include:

• Fever

• Tiredness

• Stomach pain

• Joint pain

• Nausea and vomiting

• Loss of appetite

• Dark urine

• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)

HCV damages liver cells. Normally, the liver removes harmful substances from your blood. It also makes proteins needed for blood clotting and bile acids that help with fat digestion. In chronic HCV infection, the virus damages liver cells. This can lead to cirrhosis (scarring), liver cancer, or even liver failure. More than half the people infected with HCV develop chronic liver disease, 5% to 20% develop cirrhosis, and 1% to 5% will die of cirrhosis or liver cancer. These statistics could be changed for the better if more people knew they were infected.

Hepatitis C virus is serious business.• Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants.

• It can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver failure.

• Left untreated, it can lead to death.

Take action with a simple blood test.The CDC now recommends that everyone born between 1945 and 1965 take a one-time blood test to check for HCV antibodies. If you test “negative,” then you know you don’t have the virus. A “positive” antibody test result means that you have been infected. But other tests are needed to find out if you still have the infection. If you are infected, treatments are available that may be able to slow or stop the damage to your liver. Many patients may even be cured. Your doctor will tell you what steps you can take.

Did you know?• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges

everyone born between 1945 and 1965 (baby boomers) to get a one-time blood test to see if they have the Hepatitis C virus.

• Baby boomers make up 27% of the U.S. population, yet they account for 75% of Hepatitis C cases.

• An estimated 3.2 million people are living with Hepatitis C.

• In 2007, 15,000 deaths were caused by Hepatitis C, surpassing those caused by AIDS.

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Patient resources• Choose from 2,200 Patient Service Center (PSC)

locations nationwide when your doctor orders HCV testing.

• Get your test results delivered directly to your computer, tablet or smart phone to view, access and securely share your health information wherever you go. Visit QuestDiagnostics.com/MyQuest to sign up.

For more information about HCV screening, speak to your doctor or visit QuestDiagnostics.com/HepC