In this video, i describe the toxic effects of alcohol on the heart.
What is Cardiomyopathy?
Cardio means heart
Myo refers to muscle
Pathy comes from the word pathos and literally means 'suffering'
Hence, cardiomyopathy refers to "weakness of the heart muscle".
Alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy, therefore, refers to weakness of the heart muscle caused by excessive alcohol intake.
In this condition, the heart becomes enlarged and weaker. It is described as a dilated cardiomyopathy (dilated meaning "bigger" and cardiomyopathy meaning "weakened heart muscle"). This is just a description of the heart's appearance, and many other conditions can also cause a similar appearance (such as viruses, drugs, or genetic factors). Therefore, we use the term alcohol-induced dilated cardiomyopathy when excessive alcohol intake is believed to be the cause.
Definition of Alcohol-Induced Cardiomyopathy
The definition of alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy is as follows:
Heavy alcohol consumption of more than 80g of alcohol daily over the past 5 years.
A dilated and weak heart (the heart size is more than two standard deviations above normal, and the left ventricular ejection fraction is less than 50%).
Other causes of dilated cardiomyopathy, such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, and viral infections, must have been excluded.