[ECG changes in alcoholic patients at rest and during physical exertion]

Electrocardiograms were recorded at rest and during the step-test in 231 alcoholic patients and 115 clinically normal males. In alcoholic patients, the most common ECG changes recorded at rest were shortened PQ interval, lengthened QT, rhythm and conductivity disorders, flattened P waves, whereas typical exercise-associated changes were elevated systolic parameters. As alcoholism progressed, there was an obvious tendency to increased incidence of conductivity disorders, flattened P waves and elevated systolic values during exercise. Within 1.5-2 months of anti-alcoholic treatment, resting electrocardiograms of alcoholic patients begin to show slower heart rate, longer PQ, more normal QT intervals, while rhythm and conductivity disorders do not respond rapidly, nor does QT duration during exercise.