Cardiac pathology in chronic alcoholics: A preliminary study

Ethyl alcohol exerts both positive and negative effects on the cardiovascular system. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy, produced by direct or indirect mechanisms, is well-documented. An important, but seldom appreciated effect is an increase in iron deposition in the myocardium, which can add to the cardiac dysfunction. The present study was planned to document the pathological features and iron levels in the cardiac tissue of patients who were chronic alcoholics and correlate these characteristics with the liver pathology and iron content.