Alcohol and the heart

Alcoholism in General: Alcoholism is one of the major health problems in th e world. Alcohol consumption has an impact on different body systems like t he central nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract, the hematopoetic org ans, and the cardiovascular system. Alcohol interferes with other medicatio ns, and drinking can exacerbate a variety of medical illnesses. Impact on the Heart: In the heart, alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde confer a toxic effect on mitochondria as well as on the sarcoplasmatic reti culum, which is dependent on both the mean daily consumption and the durati on of alcohol intake. A wide range of toxic effects of alcohol in distinct individuals can ob observed and modest doses of alcohol can exert beneficia l effects on the cardiovascular system probably by an increase in high dens ity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) or changes in blood clotting mechanisms. Detrimental effects of alcohol on the heart comprise a decrease in myocardi al con-tractility, hypertension, atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, and se condary non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. After consuming large quantiti es of alcohol over years, alcoholic cardiomyopathy may develop, which prese nts with dilation and impaired contractility of the left or both ventricles . Endomyocardial biopsies of patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy reveal in up to 30% of all cases myocarditis with lymphocytic infiltrates. Treatment: Abstinence after development of milder heart-failure can stop pr ogression or even reverse symptoms in some cases, otherwise severe heart fa ilure ensues leading to a poor prognosis. Except abstinence, treatment of a lcoholic cardiomyopathy is based on the regimen of therapy for heart failur e to reduce the size of the dilated heart and to mitigate the symptoms of h eart failure.