Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy caused by alcohol consumption

In fact, ethyl alcohol (ethanol) causes a reduction in the contractile capacity of heart cells and favours the onset of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias.

The damage can be greater if illegal drugs are taken together with alcohol.

The dose of alcohol associated with cardiac toxicity is about 1 g per kg of weight, which is equivalent to about 500 cc of wine at 12° for a 70 kg person.

Excessive and chronic ethanol consumption can cause left ventricular dilation and dysfunction, leading to heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). It is also associated with hypertension and stroke, atrial (atrial fibrillation) and ventricular arrhythmias, and even sudden death.

In Western countries it represents the leading cause of non-ischemic CMD and this is related to a genetic predisposition and the widespread regular use of alcohol in the population.

Stopping alcohol consumption in the early stages of cardiomyopathy, unlike what happens in cardiomyopathies of other etiologies, can arrest its progression or even cause ventricular dysfunction to regress until it returns to normal.

In Italy, a well-known and worrying phenomenon consisting of alcohol abuse between meals, among young people from the age of 12 onwards, can be responsible for addiction, liver toxicity, ethylic coma, injuries, road accidents and also development and / or worsening of Cardiomyopathy.

Patients with cardiomyopathy should not drink alcoholic beverages.

NOTES

Alcohol consumption is measured in Alcohol Units.

1 Alcohol Unit corresponds to 12 grams of ethanol, which are contained, for example, in:
1 small glass (125 ml) of wine at 12°
1 bottle or 330 ml can of 5° beer
1 small shot glass (40ml) of a spirit (e.g. vodka, grappa or whisky).

For a healthy adult, the recommended Alcohol Units to consume daily are:
2 for men under the age of 65
1 for women and men over 65 years of age