Manage Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

In this review, we evaluate the available evidence linking alcohol consumption with HF and DCM. We also discuss the clinical presentation, prognosis and treatment of ACM. The status of all patients was followed up by telephone interview, outpatient clinic attendance, or hospitalization during the follow-up period. This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Commission of Fuwai Hospital. This study alcoholic cardiomyopathy aimed to identify risk factors related to a poor outcome in ACM patients.

Medical History Assessment

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy most commonly affects men aged (+10 years of use). Although women represent about 14% of ACM cases, biological differences result in women absorbing more alcohol and they typically develop this heart condition with less lifetime alcohol use. In the U.S., heart disease is the primary cause of mortality across most genders, races and ethnicities, claiming lives every 33 seconds in the country. Many changes can be observed including premature atrial or ventricular contractions, supraventricular tachycardias, atrioventricular blocks,  bundle branch blocks, QT prolongation, non-specific ST and T wave changes and abnormal Q waves. Enzymatic activity changes which are seen in the idiopathic cardiomyopathy including decreased activity of oxygen reduction mitochondrial enzymes, increased fatty acid uptake and increased lysosomal/microsomal enzyme activity can be seen.

• Due to its significant toxicity, studies have avoided its direct instillation, as it produces indiscriminate cell damage even at low doses.
• Future studies with a strict classification of non-drinkers and drinkers will help clarify whether complete abstinence is mandatory for ACM patients.
• Clinical Review BoardAll Healthwise education is reviewed by a team that includes physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, registered dieticians, and other healthcare professionals.

Alcoholic consumption and heart failure

• As women typically have a lower BMI than men, a similar amount of alcohol would reach a woman’s heart after consuming smaller quantities of alcohol.
• By inhibiting NOX2 (the most important superoxide-producing enzyme) with apocynin, they observed a decrease in ethanol- and acetaldehyde-induced superoxide levels.

Alcohol in excessive quantities has a directly toxic effect on heart muscle cells. All 299 patients underwent a routine evaluation including a physical examination, 12-lead electrocardiography, 2-dimensional echocardiography, and a complete biochemical evaluation. Additional studies included 24-hour ECG monitoring and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Coronary angiography, coronary artery computed tomography (CT), or nuclear medicine testing was performed to rule out coronary heart diseases.

The Prognostic Factors of Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy

Due to its significant toxicity, studies have avoided its direct instillation, as it produces indiscriminate cell damage even at low doses. Alternatively, studies have analysed its effect by combining ethanol with cyanamide. This substance is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, so it increases the presence of acetaldehyde, and it promotes its effects.48,50 The harmful effects of this substance have been found to be exerted at various levels, in both animal and human models.

Pharmacological treatment for alcohol use disorder

AddictionResource fact-checks all the information before publishing and uses only credible and trusted sources when citing any medical data. The Verified badge on our articles is a trusted sign of the most comprehensive scientifically-based medical content.If you have any concern that our content is inaccurate or it should be updated, please let our team know at email protected. There are no specific lab tests to diagnose ACM, but some may be useful for checking the extent of alcohol-induced damage. The first and most important diagnosis to rule out is coronary artery disease.

• By using International Classification of Disease‐9th edition‐Clinical Modification (ICD‐9CM) diagnoses and diagnosis‐related groups different comorbidities were identified.
• This will make it easier for them to make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.
• It’s very important to stick with the treatment plan and to stop drinking alcohol during recovery.

ACTIONS

In spite of the high prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption and of its consideration as one of the main causes of DCM, only a small number of studies have analysed the long-term natural history of Drug rehabilitation ACM. Unfortunately, all the available reports were completed at a time when a majority of the current heart failure therapies were not available (Table 1). Unfortunately Lazarević et al23, as in most of these studies, systematically excluded patients with a history of heart disease or with HF symptoms.

1. Clinical features

Additionally, we can’t say for certain what mechanism cause cardiac damage. Many years ago, medical scientists explored the idea that nutritional deficiencies, secondary exposures such as tobacco, and https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/you-are-not-powerless-over-alcohol-and-heres-why/ other health issues including hypertension were involved, but now it is thought that these factors play a role in only a select few cases. In patients with alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy, the mainstay and goal of therapy is abstinence from alcohol. As with all patients with congestive heart failure, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers should be prescribed as initial therapy.

Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes

The baseline clinical, ECG, and echocardiographic characteristics of the ACM patients are shown in Table 1. Among the ACM patients, no differences between the patients in the death and survival groups were observed at baseline with respect to age, disease duration, smoking status, presence of syncope, heart rate, gender, and blood test results. The frequencies of a high New York Heart Association (NYHA; class III/IV) classification, atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrioventricular block were higher in the death group than those in the survival group. Research shows that the prognosis for people with low or moderate consumption should be no different than those who do not drink alcohol at all. There are some diabetes and stroke prevention cures that indicate some benefits to social consumption. However, chronic alcohol abuse can lead to severe heart failure and that is why the prognosis in these individuals is poor.

3. Relationship between independent predictors and all-cause mortality

Subjects with a shorter period of alcohol abuse, from 5 to 10 years, had a significant increase in left ventricular diameter and volume compared to the control group. However, a systolic impairment was not found as the years of alcoholic abuse continued. Despite the key clinical importance of alcohol as a cause of DCM, relatively few studies have investigated the effects of alcohol on the heart and the clinical characteristics of DCM caused by excessive alcohol consumption (known as alcoholic cardiomyopathy).