Assessment of cardiac risk in chronic asymptomatic alcoholics using blood pressure and electrocardiogram, and the relation with duration of drinking
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Shruti Iyer
Abstract
Background
The Global Status Report 2017 reveals that 11% of Indians indulge in binge drinking. Chronic alcohol intake may lead to cardiac problems and hypertension. The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiovascular risk among asymptomatic chronic alcoholics.
Methods
A total of 80 asymptomatic chronic alcoholics of South Indian origin, from the psychiatry ward of Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, India were diagnosed with alcohol dependence syndrome(ADS). Group I includes alcoholics for 10 years or less and group II includes alcoholics for more than 10 years. Alcohol consumption was measured using the DSM IV criteria. Blood pressure (BP) and electrocardiographic (ECG) data were measured on admission and 2 weeks later. The paired t-test compared a significant outcome of the two sets of data at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance.
Results
Forty percent of the patients were found to be hypertensive and only 2.5% were found to be pre-hypertensive on admission. The mean age of the hypertensives was 46.9 and nonhypertensives was 42.1 The difference in the BP evaluated after 2 weeks was staggering – systolic BP had a mean fall of 6.1 mm Hg (p < 0.001) and diastolic BP 2.25 mm Hg (p = 0.001). The electrocardiogram results showed significant changes like left ventricular hypertrophy, abnormal T waves, and QT prolongation.
Conclusions
Chronic alcoholism is a major criterion for heart abnormalities such as elevated BP and left ventricular enlargement, and our study supports this as we see that alcohol consumption for more than 10 years shows significant deterioration. Further clinical observations and long-term prospective studies are needed to confirm these observations.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval: The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) after thorough assessment (CSP/17/May/58/163). All patients were informed about the aim, methods, and repercussions of the study in detail before obtaining consent.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Minireview
- Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of mitragynine, the principle alkaloid of Mitragyna speciosa: present knowledge and future directions in perspective of pain
- Original Articles
- Trehalose protects against spinal cord injury through regulating heat shock proteins 27 and 70 and caspase-3 genes expression
- Evaluation of cytogenotoxic potential of Morinda lucida leaf extract on Swiss albino male mice using two bioassays
- Acute and subacute toxicity evaluation of calcium carbide and ethylene glycol in Wistar albino rats
- Evaluation of the possible hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic potentials of the Averrhoa carambola juice extract in female albino rats
- Chlorpyrifos and its metabolite modulates angiogenesis in the chorioallantoic membrane of chick embryo
- Prescribing pattern of antihypertensive medication and adherence to Joint National Commission-8 guidelines in a rural tertiary care Indian teaching hospital
- Assessment of cardiac risk in chronic asymptomatic alcoholics using blood pressure and electrocardiogram, and the relation with duration of drinking
- Effect of ghrelin on VEGF-B and connexin-43 in a rat model of doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy
- In vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties of the n-butanol fraction of Senna podocarpa (Guill. and Perr.) leaf
- Blood pressure-reducing activity of Gongronema latifolium Benth. (Apocynaeceae) and the identification of its main phytochemicals by UHPLC Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry
- Evaluation of the anticonvulsant and anxiolytic-like activities of aqueous leaf extract of Cymbopogon citratus in mice
- Terpenoids and phytosteroids isolated from Commelina benghalensis Linn. with antioxidant activity
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- Suspected reactivation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis focus after non-medical abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids: a case report
- Acknowledgment
