Relationship between hs-CRP and cardiac efficiency in chronic alcoholics

High sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a non-specific marker of inflammatory status has considerable interest focused due to its ability to predict myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral arterial disease and sudden cardiac death. Alcoholics are known to be associated with inflammation of heart. This study was taken up to look for an association between consumption of alcoholic beverages over 10 years and serum concentration of hs-CRP. 3 groups were studied, 30 age matched control, 30 non-drinkers with cardio vascular complications and 30 alcoholics with history of cardio-vascular disease. Blood was analyzed for hs-CRP. Results indicated that the level of hs-CRP was 0.17 ± 0.16 mg/lit in group 1; 0.79 ± 0.41 mg/lit in group 2 and 1.67 ± 0.16 mg/lit in group 3. A correlation was also obtained between the hs-CRP levels and cardiac efficiency in chronic alcoholics. The elevated hs-CRP levels in chronic alcoholic with heart disease could probably be due to enhanced damaging effect of alcohol on the heart and other organs.