alcoholic cardiomyopathy

cardiomyopathy /car·dio·my·op·a·thy/ (-mi-op´ah-the)

1. a general diagnostic term designating primary noninflammatory disease of the heart.

2. more restrictively, only those disorders in which the myocardium alone is involved and in which the cause is unknown and not part of a disease affecting other organs.cardiomyopath´ic

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alcoholic cardiomyopathy  dilated cardiomyopathy in patients chronically abusing alcohol.

beer-drinkers' cardiomyopathy  cardiac dilatation and hypertrophy due to excessive beer consumption; in at least some cases it has been due to the addition of cobalt to the beer during the manufacturing process.

congestive cardiomyopathy , dilated cardiomyopathy a progressive syndrome of ventricular dilatation, systolic contractile dysfunction, and, often, congestive heart failure, believed due to myocardial damage by factors such as alcohol or infection.

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy  (HCM) a form marked by ventricular hypertrophy, particularly of the left ventricle, with impaired ventricular filling due to diastolic dysfunction.

hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy  (HOCM) a form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in which the location of the septal hypertrophy causes obstructive interference to left ventricular outflow.

infiltrative cardiomyopathy  restrictive cardiomyopathy characterized by deposition in the heart tissue of abnormal substances, as may occur in amyloidosis, hemochromatosis, etc.

ischemic cardiomyopathy  heart failure with left ventricular dilatation resulting from ischemic heart disease.

restrictive cardiomyopathy  a form in which the ventricular walls are excessively rigid, impeding ventricular filling.

right ventricular cardiomyopathy  a right-sided cardiomyopathy occurring particularly in young males, with dilatation of the right ventricle with partial to total replacement of its muscle by fibrous or adipose tissue, palpitations, syncope, and sometimes sudden death.

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alcoholic cardiomyopathy

Etymology: Ar, alkohl, essence; Gk, kardia, heart, mys, muscle, pathos, disease

a cardiac disease associated with alcohol abuse and characterized by an enlarged heart and low cardiac output. Treatment consists of abstinence from alcohol and results in marked reduction in heart size in over half of patients.

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alcoholic cardiomyopathy

 A clinicopathologic state induced by chronic alcoholism, and a major cause of dilated cardiomyopathy, characterized by severe left ventricular dysfunction, associated with a 40-80% 3-yr mortality, and it may present as sudden death or ventricular fibrillation