[Echocardiographic study of the left ventricle in chronic alcoholism]

Echocardiographyc has been used to study clinical signs of cardiopathy in 25 chronic alcoholics. Compared to normal control subjects, the alcoholics presented an increase in the left ventricular wall and an increase in the cross section and volume of the left myocardium. The left ventricular cavity was also increased. On the other hand, echocardiographic indices of myocardial contractility, represented by the ejection fraction, rate of circumferential shortening and rate of increase of the thickness of the left ventricular wall from telediastole to telesystole, were within normal limits.