Alcohol and diseases of the cardiovascular system

The struggle for health, for increasing life expectancy is unthinkable without the elimination of alcoholism and drunkenness.

In the fight against the abuse of alcoholic beverages, the purposeful and differentiated anti-alcohol propaganda is of great importance.

Abuse of alcoholic beverages is most often the result of poor upbringing, imitation of bad manners, old customs and habits. And although everyone knows that drinking alcohol has a harmful effect on human health, not everyone understands how great this harm is.

One of the earliest signs of chronic alcoholism is increased tolerance to alcohol and loss of control over the amount drunk, which leads to severe forms of intoxication. Usually patients outside intoxication deny the inability to control themselves and explain the state of the situation, not allowing them to refuse to eat. Disease chronic alcoholism is an inevitable consequence of frequent use of alcoholic beverages.

Chronic alcoholism refers to those diseases, the elimination of which requires joint efforts of the whole community, since drunkenness is extremely harmful to the economic life of the country, contributes to the spread of various diseases, both mental and physical, disrupts the normal course of life of people due to negative and sometimes criminal actions of drunkards, their moral fall.

Alcohol weakens the inhibitory activity of the cerebral cortex, enhances excitation processes. The drunk underestimates the danger that threatens him, so drinking alcohol is one of the main causes of accidents in the home and at work.

Alcoholism negatively affects the work activity of patients, often lowering their qualifications, and often leads to disability.

Frequent drinking leads to a disruption in the metabolism and vital functions of all organs and systems, primarily the central nervous system, that chronic alcoholism does not completely burn fat, worsens the absorption of carbohydrates, there are a number of other disorders.

A characteristic feature of alcoholism is a profound violation of the exchange of proteins, enzymes, vitamins, leading to the exhaustion of the body and the appearance of a number of somatic diseases.

It should be emphasized that with prolonged use of alcoholic beverages, intellectual abilities are gradually broken, attention and memory are weakened.

The nervous system is the most sensitive to alcohol. Intoxication, in fact, is a picture of acute poisoning of the central nervous system, primarily its higher part - the cortex of the brain. It has been established that alcohol taken inside is delayed in the brain cells up to 15 days. In this regard, each subsequent dose of alcohol taken during this time, "layered" on the alcohol left in the body.

Alcohol has an equally significant negative effect on other internal organs of the person, especially on the cardiovascular system. With chronic alcoholism, there may be abnormalities in all parts of the cardiovascular system.

When studying the corpses of persons who abused alcohol, they found early development of atherosclerosis. General atherosclerosis in alcoholics occurs as often as in non-alcoholics. However, in alcoholics, the frequency of selective coronary artery atherosclerosis was significantly greater than that of non-drinkers, and severe forms of coronary atherosclerosis at a young age were noted predominantly in alcoholics. In chronic alcoholics aged 20-24 years, in 21.2% of cases, coronary artery disease was observed, and in persons of the same age but not abusing alcohol, only 9.2%.

In patients with chronic alcoholism, significant violations of lipid and protein metabolism were noted, which are manifested by hypercholesterolemia, increased cholesterol-lecithin index, increased content of beta-lipoproteins, hypoalbuminemia, and a decrease in albumin-globulin index. The toxic effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular system causes the onset of early and severe lesions, potentiates the development of already existing diseases of this system.

After taking alcohol, a short-term vasodilation is observed, followed by a prolonged spasm. Early development of atherosclerosis in chronic alcoholics is due to vascular dystonia with a tendency to spasms and increased permeability of the vascular walls.

People who abuse alcoholic beverages are worsened by cardiovascular disease; often after taking alcohol in hypertensive patients, hypertensive crises may occur; in patients with atherosclerosis - spasms of the coronary vessels, attacks of angina pectoris, even myocardial infarction, as well as dynamic disorders of cerebral circulation.

Alcohol, taken in large quantities, can cause the development of acute myocardial infarction in persons suffering from angina and hypertension. The development of myocardial infarction or angina attack is associated with the negative effect of alcohol on the cerebral cortex. Induced alcohol leads to disorganization of the regulation of coronary circulation.

The ingested alcohol for some time expands the skin vessels, strengthens the superficial blood circulation, as a result of which heat is felt throughout the body. The expansion phase is followed by a spasm of both cutaneous and especially cerebral vessels, coronary vessels of the heart.

Narrowing effect of alcohol on blood vessels in the second phase can cause a number of unpleasant phenomena and lead, as already mentioned, to serious consequences: myocardial infarction or cerebral hemorrhage. Most cases of myocardial infarction and cerebral hemorrhage in young people (up to 40 years) occur after drinking alcohol. And we are talking not only about alcoholics and drunkards, but also about people who drink rarely and "moderately."

Although alcohol has an initial vasodilator effect, in some patients with angina, intoxication with alcohol causes a vasoconstrictor effect, leading to severe attacks of the angina pectoris. Therefore, it is harmful and dangerous to recommend a little cognac for an attack of angina pectoris. If a person consumes alcohol during an attack, the pain will stop for a while, not so much due to the expansion of the coronary vessels of the heart, but due to the general narcotic and analgesic effects of alcohol. After a while, when intoxication will pass, a new painful attack arises; if we consider that alcohol causes severe violations of the permeability of the blood vessels of the heart, as well as a significant, albeit short-term, increase in clotting of blood, then of course the pain in the heart will intensify. In addition, alcohol weakens the inhibitory processes in the higher parts of the central nervous system.

Therefore, there is no reason to permit or recommend it with angina pectoris. Absolutely inadmissible use of alcoholic beverages in case of myocardial infarction.

Thus, anyone suffering from angina pectoris, coronary artery atherosclerosis, and other diseases of the heart and brain vessels, any alcoholic beverages, even in the smallest doses, can bring irreparable harm.

Blood pressure in people who regularly drink alcohol, almost always increased, hypertension is found in them twice as often as those who do not drink. Facts such as acute increase in blood pressure during white fever, a greater prevalence of hypertension among alcoholics than among non-drinkers, exacerbation of the course of hypertension in alcohol abuse, allow to consider alcohol a pathogenetic factor. Hypertensive disease is a vascular neurosis, a disease in which disturbances of higher nervous activity are manifested primarily in the field of vascular regulation, alcohol as a means that violates the basic nervous processes, can aggravate this neurosis, accelerate the development of hypertension.

Patients with chronic alcoholism may experience circulatory insufficiency and in connection with cardiac muscle dystrophy.

Chronic intoxication with alcohol leads to an increase in the size of the heart (the so-called "beer heart"). The increase in the size of the heart and its fatty degeneration can be observed not only in fat people, but in people with reduced nutrition.

Pathologists often find obesity of the epicardium in alcoholics. The cavities of the ventricles of the heart, especially those who abuse large amounts of wine and beer, are markedly enlarged.

Long-term use of alcohol leads to the regeneration of the heart muscle. The muscle tissue becomes flabby. Deferring in the muscle of the heart, fat causes a significant increase in its volume, the cavity of the heart expands. Part of the muscle fibers degenerates, replaced by fat and connective tissue. Sometimes the heart of an alcoholic more than 1.5 times exceeds the heart of a healthy person. Such a heart works poorly, it is difficult for it to cope with increased stress, with increased muscular work (fast walking, running, climbing stairs, uphill), shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, dizziness, dizziness. normal circulation is disturbed, edema on the legs, pains in the left half of the thorax often appear.

In chronic alcohol intoxication leading to the degeneration of the heart muscle, the functional capacity of the heart is weakened, and sometimes there are disorders of nerve conduction between the atria and ventricles. Only half of chronic alcoholics survive to 55 years of age, while in 18.5% of death occurs from acute heart failure.

The insidious feature of heart attacks in chronic alcoholism is often painless in nature, when patients enter the hospital only on the 2-3rd day after the onset of a heart attack.

In a third of all cases of sudden death of adults, the main or contributing cause was excessive intoxication.

According to research, 38% of sudden death is preceded by alcohol intoxication; in 18% of cases, alcohol consumption is combined with mental trauma and overwork, in 10% - with physical activity. Under the influence of alcohol, the permeability of blood vessels increases, which is the pathogenetic basis of myocardial changes.

Alcohol causes the occurrence of neurovascular crises, resulting in coronary insufficiency leading to death.

Alcohol can also act as a toxic factor that directly causes death.

In the study of sudden death in young adults from acute coronary insufficiency, it was found that 40% of deaths used alcohol on the eve or the day of death.

Thus, the impact of alcohol on the cardiovascular system can lead to a variety of pathological conditions, contributes to the development of arterial hypertension, coronary atherosclerosis, heart failure and can cause death.

TOP-5 drinks for the heart

Scientists have compiled a list of five beverages, the most effective protection against heart disease.

Water
When there is not enough water in the body, the blood thickens, causing the heart to apply much more effort to deliver it to all corners of the body. As a result, the risk of coronary heart disease and all other cardiovascular diseases jumps several times.

Green tea
Like black, it is rich in antioxidants, which protect against inflammatory processes, prevent the formation of free radicals, which protects against oncology and cardiovascular diseases.

Antioxidants are also found in black tea, but in green tea they are much more effective, which has been proven in a number of studies in recent years.

Red wine
Red wine contains many cardioprotective compounds. This resveratrol, and polyphenol, which lower the level of cholesterol in the blood and prevent the formation of blood clots.

There is also convincing evidence that regular consumption of red wine in small amounts helps to increase the level of so-called good cholesterol, which protects our blood vessels and the heart from damage.

Pomegranate juice
Until recently, pomegranate juice was not on this list, but scientists from California investigated its antioxidant potential. As a result, it turned out that it is three times higher than that of green tea and red wine. In addition, pomegranate juice has a calming effect, lowers blood pressure and improves overall blood circulation.

Coffee
Despite numerous myths about this, coffee is a product that saves lives. According to a number of studies, the risk of heart attack and stroke is reduced by 20% -40% with regular use of this drink.