How is alcohol abuse related to heart conditions?
Alcohol is a problem for the heart in many different ways. We know that simply in terms of the risk factors, alcohol increases triglycerides and blood pressure, blood pressure particularly being a risk not only for heart disease but for stroke. This has deleterious effects on the heart muscle as well. It also increases the risk of atrial fibrilliation, a common heart rhythm problem that can directly lead to clots forming in the heart and be showered throughout the body to affect organs like the brain, the kidneys, the legs, and even the heart itself. So, alcohol taken in excess is a serious problem. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a problem with the muscle function of the heart that's caused by drinking to excess, can make the heart function so poorly that the patients actually develop heart failure, simply due to alcohol. In some cases, that reverses when the patients stop drinking alcohol, it's always worth trying that to see if in fact the heart muscle can be brought back close to normal, but in many it is irreversible, damage will be done and patients will be dependent on medications to help control their heart failure for the rest of their lives. So drinking to excess can harm the heart in many different ways. In addition, patients that have heart disease often need to take blood thinners; medications that make their platelets not stick so much and not form a clot so readily. Alcohol is a great risk in the circumstance of people taking blood thinners or any kind, or any platelet agents.
