The Electrocardiogram of Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy

The harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption on the liver have long been recognized. A corresponding injury to the heart has not received the same attention except as part of the syndrome of beriberi attributable to thiamine deficiency. Not infrequently, however, when some form of heart disease is suspected on account of symptoms like breathlessness, palpitation, or chest pain, and when signs elicited from examination of the heart are equivocal, the true diagnosis may go undiscovered, especially if coronary arterial disease is too readily imputed as the cause of electro- cardiographic changes that may be present. In such instances, information about the quantity of alcohol consumed is seldom sought, and addiction to it is not rigorously canvassed.