# Detrimental Effects of Alcohol on the Heart: Hypertension and Cardiomyopathy

## TL;DR

Heavy alcohol use harms heart health by causing high blood pressure and heart muscle disease, though moderate drinking may have less severe effects.

## Contribution

This review synthesizes current knowledge on alcohol's detrimental effects on hypertension and cardiomyopathy.

## Key findings

- Heavy drinking causes resistant hypertension and cardiomyopathy.
- Alcohol abuse is a major preventable cause of death globally.
- Excessive alcohol intake is linked to arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

## Abstract

Epidemiological evidence suggests a J-shaped association
between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular mortality, with higher
cardiovascular event rates occurring among abstainers and heavy drinkers compared
to moderate consumers. However, this hypothesis has been challenged by more
recent studies. Furthermore, ethnicity, gender, type of alcoholic beverage, and
pattern of alcohol intake, influence the relationship between alcohol and heart
health.

We undertook a review of the relavent literature
utilizing PubMed.

Heavy alcohol consumption causes resistant
hypertension, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, hemorrhagic strokes, as well as
hepatic cirrhosis and pancreatitis. Excessive drinking is the third most
preventable cause of death worldwide behind hypertension and smoking.

In this review, we discuss the effects of alcohol abuse on
hypertension (a major cause of myocardial infarction and stroke) and alcoholic
cardiomyopathy. Another article in this Special Issue “Alcohol and Heart
Health” discusses the problem with alcohol and arrhythmias sudden cardiac death.