However, women may be more susceptible to the toxic effects of alcohol at lower doses. This increased sensitivity may be related to differences in alcohol metabolism and hormonal influences. Nutritional deficiencies—especially in thiamine (vitamin B1), magnesium, and other key nutrients—also exacerbate the risk. While alcoholic cardiomyopathy can develop in anyone who engages in chronic heavy drinking, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ certain populations are at higher risk. Genetic predisposition plays a significant role; some individuals may have inherited vulnerabilities that make their heart cells more susceptible to alcohol-induced damage.
How to Know if You Might Have Hypertensive Heart Disease vs Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy
- Cardiac percussion and palpation reveal evidence of an enlarged heart with a laterally displaced and diffuse point of maximal impulse.
- GSH depletion by ethanol feeding in the heart and other tissues as one cause of cellular degradation has been shown in a number of studies 65, 88-90.
- In spite of numerous studies, the sequence of events that occur in alcohol-induced myocardial damage is still highly controversial.
- Alcoholic cardiomyopathy weakens the heart muscle, reducing its ability to pump blood efficiently.
- Subtle signs—such as decreased exercise tolerance, mild fatigue, or occasional palpitations—are frequently dismissed or attributed to aging or stress.
The diagnosis of ACM is usually one of exclusion in a patient with DCM with no identified cause and a long history of heavy alcohol abuse. According to most studies, the alcohol consumption required to establish a diagnosis of ACM is over 80 g per day during at least 5 years9-12. Apoptosis may be induced by ethanol through mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and the release of pro-apoptotic factors (cytochrome c) from the mitochondrial inter-membrane space to the cytosol.
Apoptosis and ACM
However, if alcoholic alcoholic cardiomyopathy is especially dangerous because cardiomyopathy is caught early and the damage isn’t severe, the condition can be treated. It’s very important to stick with the treatment plan and to stop drinking alcohol during recovery. It’s important to note that alcoholic cardiomyopathy may not cause any symptoms until the disease is more advanced. On physical examination, patients present with non-specific signs of congestive heart failure such as anorexia, generalized cachexia, muscular atrophy, weakness, peripheral edema, third spacing, hepatomegaly, and jugular venous distention. S3 gallop sound along with apical pansystolic murmur due to mitral regurgitation is often heard. Acute can be defined as large volume acute consumption of alcohol promotes myocardial inflammation leading to increased troponin concentration in serum, tachyarrhythmias including atrial fibrillation and rarely ventricular fibrillation.
What else can Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy (Alcohol-related Heart Damage) be?
However, even reducing your drinking to light or moderate levels is better than continuing to drink heavily. Your outlook may also improve depending on other treatments you receive, such as medication or surgery. Alcohol-related cardiomyopathy is a type of dilated cardiomyopathy, which is when your heart’s shape changes because its muscles are stretching too much. The effect is much like how a rubber band or spring weakens when stretched too much. Alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy is a relatively uncommon condition, occurring in about 1% to 2% of people who consume more than the recommended amounts of alcohol.
- Until the second part of the 20th century, there was no scientific evidence on the direct and dose-dependent effect of ethanol on the heart as cause of ACM 6,38.
- All of these symptoms contribute to the pathophysiology of alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
- However, some studies show that moderating alcohol consumption may lead to similar health outcomes.
- Autophagy is a catabolic mechanism carried out by lysosomes and is important for the degradation of unnecessary or damaged intracellular proteins, therefore keeping the cell healthy.
A summary of some of the potential cellular changes related to ethanol consumption are shown in Figure 1. There may be more than one cellular event happening and similar to other chronic health conditions, mechanisms maybe synergistic and inter-related. As pointed out before, the current accepted definition of ACM probably underestimates the number of women affected by the disease. Alcohol affects heart function and is dependent on the quantity of alcohol that the heart is exposed to. Women typically have a lower BMI than men, and therefore the same alcohol exposure can be achieved with lower alcohol intake.
Subjects with a shorter period of alcohol abuse, from 5 to 10 years, had a significant increase in left ventricular alcoholism treatment diameter and volume compared to the control group. However, a systolic impairment was not found as the years of alcoholic abuse continued. Symptomatic management in people with secondary heart failure to address any related consequences is also vital in managing ACM.
