Manage Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

However, as the condition worsens, the heart’s ability to function declines, leading to more severe symptoms and complications. If you suspect you at risk of or are suffering from the early stages of alcoholic cardiomyopathy, your doctor will run tests to make an accurate diagnosis. Your doctor will also ask you about your medical history and alcohol use behaviors. It is important to be honest with your doctor about your alcohol use, including the https://ecosoberhouse.com/ number and amount of drinks you have each day. This will make it easier for them to make an accurate diagnosis and develop a treatment plan. The pathophysiology of AC involves a combination of direct toxic effects of alcohol on the myocardium, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and genetic susceptibility.

Continuing Education Activity

The heart output is progressively lower in a dose-dependent relationship with the lifetime accumulated total dose of alcohol consumed 38. Several growth factors and cardiomyokines exert an autocrine or paracrine effect that tries to compensate for this heart damage 119,133. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antifibrogenic mechanisms try to avoid myocyte necrosis and heart fibrosis 14,30,58.

Diagnosis

Medications, lifestyle changes, and, in some cases, surgical interventions Sober living house can help slow the disease’s progression and improve quality of life. However, valvular heart disease often presents with a heart murmur, an abnormal sound heard through a stethoscope, which is not typical in alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Swelling in the legs, or peripheral edema, affects around 50-60% of patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This occurs because the weakened heart struggles to circulate blood effectively, causing fluid to accumulate in the lower extremities.

Lifestyle modifications

In conclusion, a combination of lifestyle choices, medical conditions, and genetic factors can contribute to the development of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Understanding these risk factors can help individuals make informed decisions about their health and seek early intervention if they are at risk. The risk of developing alcoholic cardiomyopathy increases with age, particularly in individuals who have been drinking heavily for many years. Older adults are more likely to experience the cumulative effects of alcohol on the heart, and their bodies may be less able to repair the damage caused by alcohol. Without the ability to maintain proper blood flow, the function of all major organ systems in the body is interrupted. The toxic effects of alcohol abuse can be heart failure, organ failure, or a multitude of other health issues, some more dangerous than others.

• Evidence indicates that stopping alcohol consumption leads to improved outcomes, including reduced hospital admissions and heart size as seen through echocardiograms 1.
• This inability occurs despite adverse effects on the person’s health, occupation, or relationships.
• In patients with alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy, the mainstay and goal of therapy is abstinence from alcohol.
• Before recognizing that ethanol itself is the etiological factor of ACM, different theories and hypotheses emerged 1,66.

Women are affected as well but typically require less lifetime alcohol exposure to develop the condition 4. what is alcoholic cardiomyopathy Recognizing these signs and understanding their progression can aid in seeking timely medical help. Individuals dealing with substance abuse and addiction should pay close attention to their health and seek assistance when needed to prevent complications related to alcoholic cardiomyopathy. The postulated mechanism includes mitochondria damage, oxidative stress injury, apoptosis, modification of actin and myosin structure, and alteration of calcium homeostasis. Studies have shown an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in myocytes following alcohol consumption and thus causes oxidation of lipids, proteins, and DNA leading to cardiac dysfunction.

Risks / Benefits

In the absence of myocardial biopsy, the diagnosis of myocarditis is always questionable. In our patient, myocardial biopsy was contemplated, but given the rapid recovery of ventricular function, its diagnostic limitations and the absence of its clinical implications, the risk of this procedure outweighed its benefits, and thus, it was not performed. However, given the characteristic rise and fall of cardiac enzyme levels, this supports the diagnosis of acute alcohol-induced myocardial damage.

Join our supportive sober community where each day becomes a step towards personal growth and lasting positive change. During your hospital stay, one of the most important things is to continuously monitor your heart rhythm. A small percentage of people will require a pacemaker as a side effect of the ASA.

Treatment

This heart dysfunction causes faints, shortness of breath, fluid retention, and overall decreased quality of life. Read on to learn about alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Thus, although there is a certain degree of consensus regarding the recommendation of full alcohol withdrawal in ACM, it is yet to be resolved whether moderate alcohol consumption is sufficient to achieve an improvement in the prognosis of these patients. One of the few papers analysing genetic susceptibility in ACM was published by Fernández-Solà et al64 in 2002. He compared the prevalence of different polymorphisms of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene in 30 ACM patients and in 27 alcoholics with normal ventricular function.