Highlights the clinical presentation of pericardial effusion accompanying myocardial failure in patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a feature that was previously rarely documented.
Pericardial effusion may accompany alcoholic cardiomyopathy with failure; case reports leave open its prevalence and management implications.
RECENTLY, 14 white male patients were admitted to this hospital with myocardial failure accompanied by pericardial effusion. The favorite beverage of each was beer. We had not previously encountered pericardial effusion in "alcoholic myocardopathy."1,2The large globular heart shadow seen on x-ray film in myocardopathies suggests pericardial fluid,2-4but its presence has been rarely documented.3,4It is the purpose of this report to emphasize this feature which was present in 14 patients. These men presented a slightly different picture from others with myocardopathy.5,6 The patients, mostly middle-aged, usually lived alone, ate sporadically, often worked as part-time bartenders, and admitted to drinking or were reputed to drink beer continuously during the waking hours. Edema was frequently massive, and often preceded dyspnea. The latter was gradual in onset and often did not prompt hospitalization until it was very distressing and orthopnea intervened. A plethoric, cyanotic appearance was common. Neck veins were markedly
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Andrew Kerr (1967) studied this question.
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