Changes in cardiac function in the "preclinical" stage of alcoholic heart disease.

In 103 out of 220 alcoholics (46.8%) with no heart disease electrocardiographic abnormalities were found, sinus tachycardia, T-wave irregularities and intraventricular conduction disturbances being the most common features. Comparing 138 chronic alcoholics with those of 134 healthy abstainers for the systolic time-intervals, the following abnormalities were found in the former group: prolonged PEP and ICT, shortened LVET, increased PEP/LVET and heart rate. Correction of the time intervals for heart-rate left the direction of the changes unaffected. Nor was the age of the subjects found to affect the intervals to any significant degree either in the alcoholics or in the control group. It is therefore assumed that the effect of alcohol on the time-intervals operates through at least two mechanisms, an increase in heart-rate, and a depression of myocardial contractility.