It is the opinion that the excessive use of alcohol suffers mainly liver. However, an alcoholic heart lesion is very often found, or alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
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In the medical literature there is even a special term «Alcohol heart». Cardiomyopathy may occur even with a small alcoholic experience. There are cases of alcoholic heart after 4 years of abuse of alcoholic beverages.
The reasons for the development of alcohol cardiomyopathy a lot. This is the direct toxic effect of ethyl alcohol and the products of its decay on myocardium, and a violation of the work of the heart muscle due to the insufficient formation of proteins as a result of the liver damage. Alcoholics also reduced the absorption of vitamins in the intestine and, as a result, there is a shortage of vitamins of the group in having of great importance for normal heart.
The disease is manifested by pain in the left half of the chest, more often with a stitching, butter. Sometimes they are so similar to the pain during angina, which patients are sent to hospitals with a diagnosis «Uncurrent attack of angina».
Pain attacks are closely related to the rapid celebration of holidays and usually arise the day after the subject. There is also a sense of lack of air, interruptions in the work of the heart, sweating, dizziness, fear of death, angry hands and feet. In some patients there are edema of legs, shortness of breath at rest, that is, signs of heart failure appear.
The ECG records a variety of rhythm disorders: extrasystolia, flickering arrhythmia, atrial flutter. Heart ultrasound reveals the expansion of the cavities of the heart, thickening its walls, sometimes very significant.
Elimination of alcohol damage to the heart - a difficult task. The difficulty lies in the fact that myocardium has the ability «remember» exchange (biochemical) alcohol disorders, which leads to recurrence of arrhythmias, especially flickering.
The prerequisite for successful treatment is a complete refusal to eat alcoholic beverages. If necessary, antiarrhythmic drugs, diuretics, potassium and magnesium salts, vitamins are used.
