Cardiac Effects of Alcohol

There is little information on the echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular performance after the ingestion of alcohol. Therefore, we obtained echocardiograms and systolic time intervals in 9 normal subjects before and after a cocktail party. These subjects drank 5-6 ounces of 87 proof whiskey during the party. An additional 19 normal subjects drank 3 ounces of 87 proof whiskey and had similar studies performed. The results of the study with 5-6 ounces of alcohol are in Table 3. The 19 subjects who drank 3 ounces of alcohol showed no statistical changes except that the systolic ejection time fell from a control of 0.31 +/- 03 (see formula in text) to 0.30 +/- 0.4 (P less than 0.05). These data indicate that 5-6 ounces of whiskey can depress left ventricular function in normal subjects.