How alcohol affects the heart. How to avoid the negative effects of alcohol on the heart

How does alcohol affect the heart?

- strongly negative. chronic abuse alcohol is the cause of cardiomyopathy. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is more common in men. Symptoms of the disease usually appear with alcohol abuse for more than 10 years. Common primary clinical sign is shortness of breath, often coinciding with symptoms of heart failure. Drinkers may also complain of a cough, especially at night, and describe the onset of a persistent "respiratory" illness as "fluy" - without any respiratory infection. As the disease progresses, patients quickly develop fatigue and complain of chest pain during physical stress. In these cases, they may be diagnosed with subendocardial myocardial ischemia. Heart failure leads to pulmonary congestion, cardiac arrhythmia, systemic edema, anorexia, and abdominal discomfort.
increases systemic arterial pressure regardless of age, body weight, race of the patient and whether he smokes or not. There is a dose-dependent effect that changes systolic pressure more so than diastolic. Even drinking 1-2 drinks a day can raise blood pressure, especially in drinkers with pre-existing hypertension.
Knowledge of the effects of alcohol on coronary arteries hearts deepen. Alcoholics are more likely to develop myocardial infarction despite having normal or minimally narrowed coronary arteries.
Intermittent dysrhythmias and/or conduction disturbances usually occur after large doses of alcohol in patients without clinical manifestation heart disease. These arrhythmias include primarily atrial fibrillation, in addition - atrial flutter, atrial tachycardia, multiple atrial extrasystoles or ventricular extrasystoles, atrioventricular paroxysmal tachycardia and ventricular paroxysmal tachycardia. The development of this “feasting (holiday) heart syndrome” in a patient can serve as a sign of early cardiomyopathy. Although there are usually no residual effects when the condition returns to normal after withdrawal, very pronounced arrhythmias may cause sudden death. often causes disturbance heart rate and then death drinking man or his disability, such a person is not able to continue to work and perform physical activity, which is calmly performed by a non-drinking person.

: normal ventricles above, and dilated ventricles below due to cardiomyopathy

There are many misconceptions about the effect of alcohol on the heart, and some argue that moderate alcohol consumption is good for of cardio-vascular system. The influence of alcohol contributes to the development of dangerous heart diseases such as hypertension, ischemia, heart attack and insufficiency, and therefore alcohol cannot be useful in any way.

Alcohol affects the heart, not only on its own, but also in the form of toxic impurities and additives in some drinks. For example, energy cocktails popular among young people contain substances that can damage the heart and other organs.

You can significantly reduce or even eliminate the risk heart attack and cardiovascular diseases, respecting healthy lifestyle life.

Class="eliadunit">

Risk factors for a heart attack

Today we know that there are several factors that contribute to the occurrence of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. We cannot influence some of them in any way (heredity, gender and age).

The occurrence of cardiovascular diseases depends on the characteristics of a particular organism. Each negative factor contributes to the formation of these diseases.

A number of factors that are most conducive to the occurrence of heart disease have been scientifically established.

Risk factors that we cannot influence:

• age;
• heredity.

Factors affecting the cardiovascular vascular system:

• ecology (polluted air, increased background radiation);
• smoking;
• high blood pressure (hypertension);
• overweight (obesity);
• regular stress, noise;
• psycho-emotional stress, fast pace of life;
• unhealthy diet;
• high cholesterol;
• frequent use medicines;
• hypodynamia;
• excessive alcohol consumption.

The effect of alcohol on the human heart

Alcoholic toxin is a cellular poison because it seeps into cellular structures and destroys them. Also, alcohol leads to an increase in blood pressure, which also adversely affects the cardiovascular system. Even after a single use, alcohol provokes a failure in cardiac activity, lasting for several days, and within a 7-hour period after alcohol, the heart functions with excessive load.

The pulsation becomes more frequent, and the nutrition of the myocardium is disturbed, the elements of the capillary network narrow and burst due to thickening of the blood. Such processes often manifest themselves outwardly: for example, a red nose is quite frequent sign alcoholic. The blood supply to the myocardium is also disturbed, which provokes the development of cardiac hypoxia.

With each use of alcohol, such processes are becoming more difficult, taking chronic form. As a result, a drinker develops constant shortness of breath, tachycardia, cardialgia, which is accompanied by vascular atherosclerosis, as well as arterial hypertension. The result of such pathological disorders is myocardial insufficiency, which often leads to the death of not yet old men of 40-45 years of age.

Is alcohol good for the heart?

At times, in some patients suffering from various arrhythmic lesions, after alcohol there is an improvement in the condition, which manifests itself:

1. Improvement in general well-being;
2. Recession of pathological activity.

This phenomenon does not last long and is explained by the property of alcohol to restrain foci of ectopia and sinoatrial activity. A temporary decline in arrhythmic symptoms most often occurs with arrhythmia of a ventricular nature. During alcohol decay, arrhythmogenic substances are released, which subsequently only aggravate the course of arrhythmia.

• at times, such heart pains are typical for a heart attack, then the painful symptoms are squeezing and growing in nature, often do not go away even within an hour;
• soreness in the heart can occur with an angina pectoris attack, which usually lasts no more than half an hour. The pain, as it were, squeezes the heart muscle, radiating to the shoulder area and left arm;
• cardialgia may indicate the development of chronic heart failure, which is often found in young people. In this case, the patient is worried about shortness of breath, chest pressing pains, arrhythmic manifestations and dizziness.

Alcohol related heart disease

Under the influence of alcohol, the coronary-vascular tone is disturbed, which leads to malfunctions in the distribution of magnesium and calcium elements. This explains the occurrence of cardialgia, which often ends in arrhythmias, ischemia, heart attack, hypertension, dystrophic changes. Alcoholic lesions of the myocardium and vascular system develop under the influence of acetaldehyde, a toxic alcoholic product that leads to the deepest physical, chemical and structural organic disorders.

The influence of alcohol contributes to the development of dangerous heart diseases such as hypertension, ischemia, heart attack and insufficiency, and therefore alcohol cannot be useful in any way.

As a result of systematic alcohol abuse, the functionality of the myocardium drops significantly. A similar factor causes massive swelling of the heart cell structures. As a result, there is a violation of the structure of the heart fibers, the destruction of the membranes of myocardial cells, etc. Alcoholism provokes excessive ventricular excitability and blocks the conduction of the heart. In the future, these disorders lead to the development of vascular atherosclerosis and hypertension.

Subsequently, in people dependent on alcohol, the pressure is on elevated level. As a result, the load on cardiac activity increases significantly, which leads to the formation of an alcoholic heart or alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This phenomenon got its name because of the appearance of the organ:

1. The heart cavities are enlarged;
2. The heart itself also increases due to connective tissue growths.

If, upon detection of such a pathology, the patient stops drinking strong drinks, then myocardial poisoning with alcoholic toxins stops. With continued alcohol abuse, a decompensatory syndrome is formed, in which the rate and strength of myocardial contractions are significantly reduced, and myocardial insufficiency develops. Similar state can no longer be eliminated, because it is irreversible.

Alcohol dependence provokes the development of numerous cardiovascular changes, accelerates the onset of coronary disease. The negative impact of alcoholic beverages on the myocardium and vascular system can hardly be overestimated. Sometimes this effect is increased due to toxic impurities contained in alcoholic products. In canned beer, for example, there are cobalt impurities that act as preservatives. If you constantly drink such drinks, then cobalt will begin to accumulate in the tissues of the body and will have an intense toxic effect.

Alcohol and heart disease

Unfortunately, today there are relatively few convinced teetotalers among the population, and even the presence of heart disease does not prevent from drinking alcohol, in which it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol. Even relatively healthy patients regular alcohol abuse causes the development of serious pathological conditions of the heart and other organs.

Persons who already have cardiovascular pathologies, it is worth seriously fearing for life, if even with such a diagnosis they continue to abuse alcohol. Already 20-50 ml. the purest alcohol in all respects negatively affects the patient's heart condition. Regular drinking of alcoholic beverages causes:

• rise in blood pressure as alcohol reduces effectiveness antihypertensive drugs, then the likelihood of developing a hypertensive crisis increases significantly;
• increases the risk of hospitalization due to myocardial ischemia, which begins to progress rapidly, becomes more aggressive and is accompanied by severe complications;
• increases the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke in ischemic patients;
• set development comorbidities worsening the course of the underlying heart disease;
• sudden death of the patient due to exacerbation of the disease.

Therefore, the use of alcohol is unacceptable in the presence of pathological disorders of the cardiovascular system. If the patient suffers from persistent alcohol addiction, then he needs to undergo appropriate treatment for alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

Treatment

The main requirement for the patient is a complete rejection of alcohol, therefore, not only a cardiologist, but also a narcologist takes part in the treatment of cardiomyopathy of alcoholic origin. The duration of such therapy pathological condition can be months, and in difficult cases, years, because the myocardium after alcoholic lesions recovers for a very long time.

A serious correction of the diet is necessary, its enrichment with vitamin and protein substances, which are usually not enough in alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This pathology accompanied by damage to others internal organs like liver, kidneys, respiratory system, therefore, therapy is versatile and is aimed at restoring all affected organs.

• if there is an alcoholic heart syndrome, adrenoblockers are prescribed, and daily dose increase gradually, these drugs help stop the enlargement of the heart and even help to reduce it;
• cardiac glycosides, diuretic and antiarrhythmic agents are also prescribed;
• protein deficiency is replenished by taking amino acids and anabolic steroids;
• for metabolic recovery, drugs like Trimetazidine, Phosphocreatine, Levocarnitine are indicated.

If the alcoholic heart is accompanied by serious lesions, then apply cardinal methods that are operational in nature. But such operations are carried out quite rarely and in the presence of exceptional indications.

The only benefit of strong drinks for blood vessels is to counteract accumulation in the arteries. bad cholesterol". But this plus is neutralized by stretching vascular wall, hypertrophy of adipose tissue, loss of myocardial tone. People who drink alcohol daily cannot have a healthy heart, the risk of heart failure increases 10 times. A direct link between intoxication, strokes, heart attacks has been proven. According to statistics, 68% of deaths from pathologies of the cardiovascular system are provoked by excessive drinking.

How alcohol affects the heart

Under the influence of ethyl alcohol, erythrocytes blood cells lose their negative charge and begin to attract each other. Conglomerates are formed, the harm of which is in violation of the patency of arterioles, an increase in blood clotting (it becomes too thick). The heart, in order to be able to push fluid through the vessels, has to accelerate the rhythm - as a result, blood pressure rises, and the pulse quickens.

Hard work requires a lot of oxygen, alcohol hypoxia begins. The myocardium and coronary vessels that feed the heart muscle. Long term use alcohol violates fat and protein metabolism, many low-density lipoproteins accumulate in the plasma. The tissues of the heart, arteries and veins become flabby. Such exposure to alcohol increases the risk of ruptures of the vascular walls.

The situation is aggravated by the simultaneous drinking and smoking - under the influence of alcohol and nicotine, the vessels that bring arterial blood, the transport capacity of hemoglobin decreases, the concentration of carbon monoxide increases. The latter substance negatively affects the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, further complicates the process of oxygen release in tissues, and increases the risk of heart collapses (attacks).

Important: regular examination hearts are useful to all people, because destructive processes occur every time a person takes even a small dose of strong drink. Fully safe dose alcohol does not exist.

Alcohol for a sick heart

Alcohol is dangerous even for an absolutely healthy heart, but for a diseased organ, even a small glass of alcohol threatens with complications. Contraindications for the use of strong drinks are ischemic disease (heart attack, angina pectoris, atherosclerotic cardiosclerosis) - high blood pressure provokes complications. 10 grams of alcohol can increase blood pressure to critical levels.

It is strictly forbidden to drink with chronic cardiomyopathy. Mortality from alcohol-induced heart disease accounts for 28% of all deaths of alcoholics with stage 3–4 addiction. If you drink with arterial hypertension, the likelihood of a cerebrovascular attack increases - damage to the vessels of the brain due to insufficient blood filling and subsequent hypoxia.

alcohol heart

In scientific circles, the name "cardiomegaly" is accepted, in the people the pathology is called a bovine or alcoholic heart. Under the influence of alcohol, there is an increase in the size of the organ with uneven hypertrophy of the walls of the ventricles. Characteristic is the replacement of muscle cells with layers of adipose tissue, excessive accumulation of exudate ( biological fluid) in the cavity of the epicardium and myocardium. Sizes exceed the norm by 2-3 times.

Bovine heart syndrome occurs not only with severe alcoholism, when vodka or another drink with a strength of more than 30 degrees is drunk for a long time. Abuse of beer also causes cardiomegaly. If you drink 3-4 times a week, 2-3 liters per day, the disease will develop in 5-6 years, symptoms will appear:

• dyspnea;
• tightness in the chest;
• swelling of the limbs;
• wheezing;
• tachycardia;
• arrhythmia;
• excessive sweating.

If an alcoholic is diagnosed with cardiomegaly, he should definitely stop drinking - required condition without which recovery is impossible. Alcohol will cause an even greater increase in the heart, the myocardium will be subjected to pressure and, consequently, the risk of ischemia, stroke, heart attack will increase.

What alcohol is safe and how much you can drink

No strong drink can be completely harmless to the heart. But with the rare use of a small amount of alcohol negative impact minimally, the body has time to recover. The threshold of insignificant toxicity of ethanol for the myocardium is 19 * 1.5 = 28.5 g per day, which corresponds to approximately 90 ml of vodka, 220 ml of dry red wine, 800 ml of beer. With this amount, the heart needs 3-4 days to eliminate small damage. If you exceed the dosage of alcohol, then you should refrain from alcohol for at least 13 days.

Vodka, beer, wine cannot be combined with many drugs, as the drugs enhance each other's action. For example, the effect of alcohol on the heart triples with the simultaneous use of ethanol and drugs with anthracyclines (Daunorubicin, Idarubicin) and methylalanine (Methyldop).

Recovery

When a patient gets rid of alcoholism, doctors necessarily include procedures that normalize heart function in the treatment program. Everyone who landed their “motor” is assigned:

• Preparations with vitamins, minerals. In alcoholic cardiomyopathy, it is important to get more thiamine (B1). In case of arrhythmia, agents with potassium and magnesium are prescribed.
• Glycosides (Strophanthin, Digoxin, Celanide). They have a cardiotonic effect, normalize the contractile activity of the myocardium.
• Beta-blockers (Metoprolol, Betaxolol, Timolol). Helps to restore a normal heart rhythm, lower blood pressure.
• Metabolic agents (Actovegin, Hypoxen, Cytochrome C). They have antihypoxic and antioxidant effects. Accelerate metabolic processes.

A vital organ, weighing 300 grams - the heart, pumps 7 thousand liters of blood every day, carrying it to all body systems. useful material, oxygen. Stopping it makes it impossible for the body to continue functioning.

Knowing what state the human heart is in after alcohol, doctors recommend giving it up to everyone, especially people with health problems.

The impact of alcoholic beverages on the heart - what is the harm of abuse for a person

Canadian scientists set up an experiment on 3146 healthy people by offering them .

20% managed to complete this experiment without heart problems, and 80% of them developed diseases that lead to heart attacks, strokes, destruction healthy cells organism, deterioration brain activity.

Doctors, in the process of conducting these studies, found that short-term or long-term alcohol intake is a burden on the heart, leading to the development of such diseases:

• myocardial infarction;
• Heart failure;
• Bovine heart syndrome - thickening of the walls of the organ, an increase in its volume;
• High blood pressure;
• cardiomyopathy;
• Arrhythmia;
• Violation normal activities heart muscle;

Alcohol and the heart are incompatible things, while the doses and degrees of the drink are not important, this is a fact that official medicine confirms constantly.

Alcohol in diseases of the heart rapidly destroys the walls of the organ, contributes to the thinning or thickening of blood vessels.

Daily intake of alcoholic beverages ends with pain in the heart, memory gaps, sudden coronary death.

Drink a little alcohol or refuse completely - is there a difference in the load on the heart

For the heart, 50 grams of vodka is a blow, but if a person has healthy liver, she will cope with such a load for 3–5 years.


If the heart hurts after alcohol, the body gives a signal that it is necessary to completely abandon the use, reporting its problems.

The harm of alcohol manifests itself quickly in people suffering from diabetes, . The resulting heaviness in the heart after drinking alcohol suggests that the body cannot withstand such loads, adding new problems to the person.

The direct effect of alcohol on the heart leads to the following consequences and diseases:

• The rate of circulation slows down.
• The rhythm of the heart is lost - it beats too fast or too slowly.
• The walls of the organ are strongly thickened or thinned.
• There is shortness of breath, swelling of the legs, excessive sweating.

What if after drinking alcohol the heart hurts, colitis or feels heaviness

Alcohol, painful in the heart , affects the appearance of a person, because main body for all systems, instead of useful substances, vitamins and microelements, it is exposed to toxins, harmful substances disintegration of alcoholic beverages.

When the heart hurts after drinking alcohol, this is a signal of the beginning of the destruction of all body systems. Slowly or quickly this happens, depending on the amount drunk, the frequency of use, the strength of the drink.

When the heart colitises after drinking alcohol, it is worth starting treatment immediately. Since the myocardium of the heart has the ability to remember what happened to it, problems will recur after treatment.

Harmful substances from the breakdown of alcohol enter through the vessels into all body systems, killing slowly and painfully.

The heart of a person who uses alcoholic drinks, wears out 3 times faster than a healthy one, and if we are talking about alcoholism, he ages and dies within a few years.

Today, diseases of the cardiovascular system are increasingly common, which, among other things, are associated with an immoderate love for alcoholic beverages. And at the same time, from time to time there are statements in the commercial press that alcohol in “moderate” amounts strengthens the work of the heart and prolongs life. But is it really so? Do alcoholics and drunkards have the most healthy hearts in the world? Or is it just beneficial for someone, because the production of alcoholic beverages is more than profitable? So what is the effect of alcohol on the heart?

What happens to the heart when drinking alcohol?

In fact, alcohol is a real cellular poison - it increases blood pressure, penetrates into the cells of the heart muscle and damages them. Even a single intake of alcohol disrupts the functioning of a vital organ for several days at once, and the first 7 hours after the start of drinking, our heart is completely worn out. At the same time, the nutrition of the heart muscle deteriorates significantly, and the pulse quickens to 100 beats per minute. At the same time, there is a narrowing of the capillaries, which begin to burst due to too much thick blood- that's why hallmark lovers look into the wine glass is the red nose. The blood supply is also disrupted, and as a result, oxygen starvation hearts. Unfortunately, all these phenomena are not temporary, but become chronic - shortness of breath, heart pain, tachycardia develop, and all this against the background of hypertension and early atherosclerosis. As a result, it develops cardiovascular failure- she is the reason lethal outcome in men aged 40-45.

Heart pain after drinking alcohol

Usually pains are observed between the shoulder blades and in the region of the heart and occur after drinking alcohol, and sometimes the next day. This is very alarm signal, speaking of a number of irreversible processes developing in the body of a drinker. It is not by chance that American cardiologists called such cases “spree heart”, since alcohol interferes with the full conduction work of the heart and removes B vitamins from the body, which causes people to suffer. nerve fibers heart muscle.

Usually such pains last about an hour and are cutting, aching or paroxysmal in nature.

There are other pains associated with alcohol intake:

1. With an attack of angina pectoris, a constriction of the heart is felt, while pain radiates to the left side of the body - usually to the shoulder, arm. All this lasts no more than 30 minutes.
2. With myocardial infarction, the pain is similar to angina pectoris, but lasts much longer than half an hour and increases over time.
3. Other Signs of Heart Failure That Even People Can See young age- all kinds of arrhythmias, expressed in shortness of breath, dizziness, pains of a pressing character in the chest.

Causes, symptoms and prognosis of alcoholic cardiomyopathy

Let's continue to study the effect of alcohol on the heart.

Most often, people who abuse alcohol for two to three years have alcoholic cardiomyopathy (aka myocardial dystrophy). The main symptoms are shortness of breath and arrhythmia - these are signs of primary cardiomyopathy, which, when timely handling treated by a cardiologist. However, if the moment is missed, the second stage of the disease develops (muffled heart sounds are heard), and then the third (edema, asthma attacks, irreversibility of processes in the myocardium) - in this case, an unexpected death is very likely.

The provoking factors for the development of the disease are stress, heredity, malnutrition, complications of viral infections.

We tie with alcohol - we restore the heart?

Unfortunately, heart failure can be cured only in the early stages and with the help of medication, proper diet, sports and good sleep. But if such changes as dystrophy, proliferation of adipose tissues and thickening of the myocardial walls occur, which occur in 2-3 years of alcoholism, it will not be possible to completely get rid of them.

But it is possible to prevent further deterioration of the situation - after giving up alcohol, blood circulation is mostly normalized, metabolism improves, the pathological load is reduced and the growth of adipose tissue of the heart stops.

Heart failure. Heart failure from alcohol

Heart failure is a widespread disease. Heart failure is a condition where, as a result of damage to the heart, the heart muscle is weakened and cannot satisfactorily perform its pumping function. As a result, the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the body is disrupted.

Causes of heart failure

Heart failure most often develops as a result of coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction, angina pectoris). Arterial hypertension, valvular heart disease and cardiomyopathy also lead to heart failure.

How does chronic heart failure manifest itself?

The most common symptoms are shortness of breath and weakness. At first, daily physical activity is not accompanied by weakness, shortness of breath, or palpitations. Then somewhat limited, but no complaints at rest. Daily activities can cause weakness, shortness of breath, or palpitations. Over time, as the disease progresses, complaints appear with little physical exertion and at rest.

With heart failure, edema develops due to water and sodium retention in the body. They appear first in the ankle area and disappear after rest or towards the end of the day, and then can spread and do not disappear after a night's rest.

Medical therapy for heart failure

Only a doctor after the examination can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. Used to treat heart failure different groups medicines. Regular and correct reception medicines will help improve the health of patients. You need to know the names and doses of the drugs you are taking and strictly follow your doctor's orders. Special meaning in improving the health status of patients have non-drug methods treatment.

Weight monitoring

Patients are advised to weigh themselves regularly (it is better to plant them during some daily activities, for example, after the morning toilet), and in case of a sudden unexplained weight gain of more than 2 kg in three days, inform the doctor or increase the dose of the diuretic.

Diet

Salt restriction (2-5 g/day) is more important in severe heart failure. Salt substitutes should be used with caution, as they may contain potassium in large quantities, especially when simultaneous reception ACE inhibitors cause hyperkalemia.

Liquid

Patients with severe heart failure, regardless of the presence of hyponatremia, are shown to limit free fluid to 0.6 l / day. Vitamins A1, B1, B2, C, PP are added. Fractional nutrition (for the whole day bread 150 g, sugar 40 g, butter 10 g).

It is acceptable to drink alcohol in moderate doses (a bottle of beer or 1-2 glasses of wine per day). If alcoholic cardiomyopathy is suspected, alcohol is excluded.

In obese patients, treatment for heart failure includes weight loss. About overweight they say if the body mass index (BMI) = weight (kg) / height (m2) is 25-30; if it exceeds 30, obesity is diagnosed.

Pathological weight loss

Pathological weight loss is observed in approximately 50% of patients with heart failure. The reduction in fat and lean body mass that accompanies this weight loss is called cardiac cachexia. This condition is an important predictor of reduced life expectancy. Pathological weight loss should be suspected if:

• body weight less than 90% of ideal

The goal of treatment is to achieve weight gain not due to edema, but preferably due to muscle mass through adequate physical activity. If weight loss is due to nausea, shortness of breath, or a feeling of fullness in the stomach, frequent small meals are recommended.

Smoking cessation is desirable in all cases. The use of aids, in particular patches containing nicotine, chewing gums etc.

It is contraindicated to stay in the highlands, places with a hot or humid climate. Short air travel is preferable to long trips by other modes of transport. In severe heart failure, long flights are fraught with complications (dehydration, severe swelling of the legs, deep vein thrombosis are possible), which patients should be warned about. Possible consequences of dietary changes while traveling in the form of acute gastroenteritis. With the loss of water and salt in a hot and humid climate, the dose of diuretics and vasodilators should be adjusted accordingly.

sex life

It is impossible to give unambiguous recommendations on sexual life. If necessary, it is recommended to take nitrates under the tongue before sexual intercourse and refrain from particularly violent emotions. In functional class II, the risk of decompensation provoked by sexual activity is medium, and in functional class III-IV, it is high. Little is known about the effect of heart failure treatment on sexual function.

Immunization

There are no reliable data on the consequences of immunization in heart failure. Immunization against pneumococcal disease and influenza reduces the risk respiratory infections that can aggravate heart failure. Influenza immunization is widely used.

In acute heart failure or destabilization of chronic heart failure, rest is necessary up to bed rest. To prevent the undesirable consequences of bed rest, including vein thrombosis, passive exercises are performed. As the condition improves, they move on to breathing exercises and gradually increase activity.

If the patient's condition is stable, then moderate physical activity, which prevents muscle detraining, should be encouraged. Patients with pronounced functional disorders recommend short workouts(15-20 min) 3-5 times a week. The intensity of training is selected so that the heart rate reaches 60-80% of the predetermined maximum value. Preference is given to walking at an average pace (60-80 steps per minute).

The doctor must conduct a conversation with the patient so that the patient can actively participate in the treatment. The patient must know and understand:

1. improvement may be slow and incomplete even after weeks, and with some drugs - months of treatment;
2. doses of ACE inhibitors, angiotensive receptor blockers and beta-blockers should be gradually increased to a certain level, although this will not bring a direct improvement in the condition;
3. in case of dehydration (at rest, with profuse sweating in a hot climate), the dose of diuretics should be reduced;
4. with a decrease in blood pressure, it is necessary to reduce the dose of diuretics, and, if necessary, ACE inhibitors, angiotensive receptor blockers and beta-blockers;
5. ACE inhibitors can cause cough and taste disturbances;
6. at the same time with ACE inhibitors do not take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
7. with sudden onset of shortness of breath or as preventive measure in certain situations, you can take nitrates - in the form of tablets under the tongue or aerosol.

The treatment of heart failure has several goals. First, the elimination of the symptoms characteristic of this disease. Secondly, and no less important, is to protect organs from damage: the heart, kidneys, lungs, brain, liver, blood vessels. The third goal is to improve the patient's quality of life. This means that the treatment of heart failure should provide the patient with the opportunity to live the same full life, which live and his healthy peers.

Alcoholism is the cause of heart disease

The effect of alcohol on the heart is somewhat controversial.

Some experts argue that dry red wine is even good for the heart muscle, as it contains antioxidants and other beneficial substances that support the metabolism in the myocardium. Until now, some Western and domestic doctors recommend that young patients who have had myocarditis drink a glass of heated red wine 2-3 times a week for a month to speed up the recovery of the heart muscle and avoid the formation of small foci of fibrosis in the myocardium - growth connective tissue, which often develops after inflammatory diseases.

Large studies that would unambiguously give an answer regarding the benefits of wine for the heart have not yet been conducted. However, there are reasons to believe that large quantities quality alcohol is still useful. An example of such a benefit is mediterranean diet, which is considered the most useful among all other varieties healthy eating. The inhabitants of the Mediterranean eat a lot of seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables; among the methods of cooking, stewing and baking are especially common. In addition, they hold in high esteem local wines, devoid of additives and dyes. As statistics show, in this geographical area the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is much less than in the rest of the world. This suggests that this way of eating helps maintain heart health.

However, no one will argue that excessive alcohol consumption and its poor quality can cause serious harm.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to buy only elite alcohol. High-quality foreign wines, which doctors call healthy, have quite high cost; in addition, when buying them, it is easy to come across a fake. Most of available alcohol in our country does not meet world standards: alcohol of insufficient degree of purification, flavoring additives, coloring agents - all this completely excludes the presence of any useful properties in it. Therefore, even small amounts of alcoholic beverages can have a negative effect on the body.

The most damaging effects of alcohol are seen in people who regularly abuse alcohol. These are people suffering domestic drunkenness and alcoholism. Alcohol abuse destroys all systems and organs without exception, especially affecting the heart, liver, nervous system and mentality of the patient. The totality of changes in the heart muscle caused by alcohol is usually combined under the definition of "alcoholic heart disease" or "alcoholic cardiomyopathy".

Ethyl alcohol, in fact, is a poison, and it is not so much poison itself that is poisonous, but the products of its metabolism formed in the body. One of these metabolites is acetic acid. Depending on the purity of alcohol, it has more or less side effects. toxic substances. So, poorly purified moonshine contains poisonous fusel oils in excess.

Ethanol metabolic products have toxic effect to cells throughout the body. In relation to the myocardium, this is expressed by the fact that cardiomyocytes lose the ability to accumulate energetically valuable substances and quickly consume them. The permeability of their membranes is disturbed, as a result of which they extract nutrition and oxygen from the blood worse and perceive to a lesser extent suitable to them. nerve impulses. Deep metabolic disorders with a long history of alcoholism can lead to cardiomyopathy - irreversible changes in the heart muscle, in which muscle fibers are stretched and heart failure is formed.

The latter is manifested by shortness of breath, swelling and other symptoms that indicate that the heart ceases to fully pump blood. An unpleasant property of heart failure is that, once it has arisen, it tends to get worse. Without treatment, such patients live only a few years.

In addition to the general toxic effects that develop gradually in alcoholism, the cardiovascular system experiences discomfort during each intake of alcohol.

Regarding the heart ethanol exhibits a biphasic effect. First, it increases the heart rate and the power of the heart muscle, constricts blood vessels, increasing blood pressure. Then the action becomes opposite: the tone of the arteries decreases and hypotension occurs. Such shifts lead to increased load on the heart and blood vessels; gradually the alcoholic develops hypertonic disease. However, the most difficult period after drinking alcohol - this is the moment of a hangover, or, as doctors call it, withdrawal syndrome. In this phase, toxic metabolites accumulate in the body, which were formed during the destruction of taken dose alcohol, but not yet excreted from the body. Toxins cause symptoms of general poisoning, which also affects the heart. During this period, the pressure rises again and the pulse quickens; Because of the nausea and vomiting that often occurs with a hangover, the body loses electrolytes and potassium deficiency occurs in the heart muscle, which can manifest as heart rhythm disturbances. Alcoholics most often end up in a hospital with a hangover: at this time they usually experience hypertensive crises, disruptions in the rhythm, heart attacks and strokes.

Alcohol consumption in large doses leads to disturbances in other organs. Yes, it hurts a lot. endocrine system especially the adrenal glands. Each time they drink alcohol, they release large amounts of the hormone adrenaline into the blood, which acts on various organs. Adrenaline is a stress hormone, and excessive stress is bad for the body. Alcoholics who abuse alcohol almost every day create a constant load on the cardiovascular system. Adrenaline affects more than just pulse and blood pressure. Its excessive release contributes to the fact that myocardial cells quickly spend all nutrients. In addition, under the influence of this substance, the structure of cell membranes is disrupted: molecules of polyunsaturated fatty acids that keep them normal structure leading to damage to the heart at the cellular level.

Alcoholism leads to numerous changes in the cardiovascular system, in particular, accelerates the development of coronary heart disease. However, a more common form of myocardial damage is the already mentioned alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

In medicine, there is such a thing as "Sunday Heart Syndrome". That's what the episodes are called. atrial fibrillation that occur in people who have abused alcohol the day before.

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is usually found in men. In order for this violation to appear, 5 years of regular drinking in large doses is enough. female body less resistant to alcohol, so in females, the disease can begin in 2-3 years.

The insidiousness of this disease is that it develops gradually, and by the time the symptoms appear in the body, serious disorders have occurred that require lifelong medication. The heart becomes flabby, the muscle layer becomes thinner, foci of connective tissue or its growth appear in the myocardium. All this reduces the efficiency of the heart, leading to changes in the myocardium, similar to a heart attack.

Symptoms of alcoholic cardiomyopathy can be various pains in the heart, episodes of rhythm disturbances, shortness of breath, poor exercise tolerance, swelling in the legs. The borders of the heart increase; his atria and ventricles are stretched and filled with blood. A dilation syndrome develops - an expansion of all chambers of the heart, accompanied by its inability to fully pump blood.

Treatment of alcoholic cardiomyopathy is carried out according to the same principles as the treatment of chronic heart failure. In this case, the most important moment of treatment is the refusal to drink alcohol. If a person already has changes in cardiovascular system, then taking even small doses can significantly aggravate the patient's health.

Alcohol can cause great harm heart, and this is caused not only by the composition of the product itself, but also by the admixture of poisons in it, which are added to ready-made alcoholic beverages. For example, canned beer contains a small amount of cobalt used as a preservative. With regular abuse, it can accumulate in the body in toxic doses.

Drunkenness

In order to isolate the risk to the heart from heavy drinking, French researchers compared Irish and French drinkers. The Irish are twenty times more likely to become drunkards than the French, they often take five or more drinks in one sitting, and tend to concentrate their drinking on Saturdays (perhaps in connection with football matches).

The French, by contrast, distribute their alcohol evenly throughout the week.

Over the ten-year period of this observational study, heavy drinkers were twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or die from heart disease compared to moderate drinkers. Scientists continue to investigate the mechanisms by which drinking can harm heart health. Most probable causes- changes in the conduction of the cardiac system associated with drunkenness and the inability to increase the level of alcohol when drunk HDL cholesterol(It turns out that this level rises with more regular use of alcohol).

It's okay to relax and have a drink or two on the weekends, but stop there. Don't finish your entire bottle of wine or your entire six-pack of beer: let your friends help you with this, and you may be able to improve your heart health.

Risk excess consumption alcohol: those who drink more than four drinks a day

The largest study to date examined the link between alcohol and cancer. It was a one million woman study published in 2009 that involved almost 1.3 million middle-aged women in the UK and correlated their alcohol consumption with cancer development. In this study, alcohol—whether in the form of wine, beer, or spirits—increased women's risk of developing breast, liver, and rectal cancers. The combination of alcohol and tobacco was even more worrisome (it is believed that alcohol acts as an accelerating agent), possibly contributing to cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and larynx in drinkers who also smoke. Interestingly, alcohol appears to reduce the risk of thyroid cancer, kidney cancer, and Ehodgkin's lymphoma. In general, however, alcohol increases the risk of cancer by 6%, and the more alcohol a person consumes, the greater the risk. The authors of the study estimated that 30,000 American women develop breast cancer every year as a result of drinking alcohol.

The ever-increasing amount of conflicting research can be confusing and stressful. Today alcohol is good for you, tomorrow it is bad. As the old joke goes, this is enough to drive a man to drunkenness. Our goal is to help you make the right and smart choice about your drinking. Ask yourself if you are thirsty and then consider your answer in the context of your personal history. Connect your doctor to this. Remember that we have a lot of information regarding the health effects of alcohol, but very few randomized controlled trials, our strongest source of medical evidence.

If you drink:

• drink in moderation;
• men - no more than two drinks per day;
• women - no more than one serving of alcohol per day; if there is a family or personal history of breast, liver or rectal cancer, in case of pregnancy, you should not drink at all;
• avoid overdose of alcohol and overeating;
• make your choice in favor of red wine.

If you are unwilling or unable to drink:

• maintain a healthy lifestyle on other fronts;
• drink from time to time dark grape juice, as it can also be good for your heart, like red wine.

Rate the material