She was a seasoned drinker, yet developed heart failure: a warning sign of alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
Case Study: A seasoned drinker developed severe heart disease from excessive alcohol consumption.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, a 42-year-old female patient was admitted to the cardiology department due to difficulty breathing. Her symptoms were severe; she experienced shortness of breath even at rest and would wake up gasping for air at night. After echocardiography and other examinations, she was ultimately diagnosed with heart failure, NYHA Class IV, and extremely poor left ventricular ejection fraction, only 35% (normal is over 55%).
What caused such severe heart damage in such a young woman? Further questioning revealed that she had long worked in the tourism industry and, since her twenties, had consumed 500g of baijiu (a type of Chinese liquor) and 4-5 bottles of beer daily. Friends and superiors described her as having a high alcohol tolerance. However, this patient was ultimately diagnosed with alcoholic cardiomyopathy due to excessive drinking.
Definition of Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy: Long-term excessive alcohol consumption (WHO criteria: women >40g/day, men >80g/day, for more than 5 years), accompanied by symptoms and signs of heart disease, is called alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
Clinical Symptoms: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy presents with diverse clinical manifestations. Mild cases may present with palpitations, chest tightness, fatigue, and weakness; severe cases may exhibit dyspnea, orthopnea, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, as well as jugular venous distension, hepatic congestion, lower extremity edema, and pleural effusion, and may even lead to death. Laboratory tests reveal cardiomegaly and decreased cardiac ejection function.
Treatment: The key to treating alcoholic cardiomyopathy is early diagnosis, early cessation of alcohol consumption, and symptomatic treatment to delay or reverse the progression of the disease. Patients with severe heart failure should seek timely medical attention to achieve the best treatment outcome.
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