[Echocardiographic study of patients with alcoholic heart lesions]

The authors provide data obtained during echocardiographic examination of 16 patients with different patterns of alcoholic heart injury primarily at the early stages of alcoholism. The group of patients without heart rhythm abnormality showed a decrease in myocardial contractile function, moderate dilatation of the left ventricle and its hypertrophy. In patients with heart rhythm abnormalities, the progress of myocardial lesions, dilatation of the left ventricle, left atrium and right ventricle prevailed over hypertrophy of the left ventricle. Hypertrophy and dilatation of the left ventricle were most pronounced in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation. The disease was discovered to run its course in stages with gradual superimposition on left ventricle hypertrophy and dilatation followed by a decrease in myocardial contractile function.