To compare the prevalence and cardiac status of male and female alcoho
lics with alcoholic cardiomyopathy during a 5-year period, all chronic
alcoholics with dilated cardiomyopathy who had clinical symptoms hear
t failure were included, Alcoholic cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in 10
chronic alcoholic women and in 26 men; the prevalence of alcoholic car
diomyopathy was similar in both sexes, No significant differences were
observed in age, nutritional parameters, and clinical and radiologic
data of heart failure between the groups, Alcoholic women reported a s
ignificantly lower daily dose of ethanol (p = 0.002), a shorter durati
on alcoholism (p = 0.017), and a lower total lifetime dose of ethanol
consumption (p = 0.001), and had a lower New York Heart Association fu
nctional class than men. Women also had lesser ventricular dysfunction
than men. In a multivariate analysis, left ventricular systolic dysfu
nction was related to the total lifetime dose of ethanol consumption (
p < 0.04), but not to gender, Finally, when patients were matched for
left ventricular ejection fraction, women had consumed a lower total l
ifetime dose of ethanol than men (p < 0.001). The prevalence of alcoho
lic women with dilated cardiomyopathy was found to be similar to that
of alcoholic men, although women required a lower total lifetime dose
of ethanol to develop the disease. (C) 1997 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.