What are the effects of alcohol on the heart?
Moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. People who consume an average of 5 drinks per week have the lowest risk of coronary artery disease. There is controversy regarding the kind of alcohol that you should drink to lower your coronary heart disease risk. Some studies advocate red wine, but others found no difference in the kind of alcohol consumed.
While a moderate amount of alcohol intake may protect the heart, chronic high alcohol intake increases the incidence of hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure, and cardiomyopathy (weakness of the heart muscle)
Alcohol cardiomyopathy (weakness of the heart muscle related to alcohol) is caused by habitual excessive intake of alcohol. This condition leads to the development of heart failure. Heavy alcohol intake may cause this condition through inducing a deficiency of vitamins or through a direct effect of alcohol on the heart muscle.
Holiday heart syndrome is a condition that happens to people who binge drink on the holidays and weekends. It is a condition where binge drinkers experience heart rhythm abnormalities after a heavy episode of drinking.
As for the effects on cholesterol,moderate alcohol intake causes an increase in HDL (good cholesterol), but it also increases the serum triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood).
Although alcohol intake might have some beneficial effects on the heart, it also has harmful effects on the heart and other body systems, such as the liver and the brain. If you are not a drinker, the current recommendation is not to start.
Can marijuana affect the heart?
Marijuana use is an increasing problem. The plant Cannabis sativa is the source of marijuana. The most common route of use is smoking the dried leaves. It is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. Marijuana is a serious problem because it is considered less risky than other drugs and it is cheaper.
Marijuana causes a fast heart rate (tachycardia), which may lead to irregular heart rhythm and may increase blood pressure.
Because of the spreading use of marijuana and the fact that some people use it on a habitual basis, it has been recognized that the repeated inhalation of marijuana smoke is harmful to the lungs and may eventually lead to heart disease.
Marijuana is sometimes used in combination with other illicit drugs, many of which have serious harmful effects on the heart.
The use of marijuana in people with underlying heart disease worsens their condition and might increase the chance of heart attacks.
What are the dangers of cocaine on the heart?
Cocaine is the second most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. This drug can lead to heart disease whether it is used only once or repeatedly over a long period. Cocaine users commonly present to the emergency room because of heart complications.
Heart attack is the most serious complication of cocaine use, and it can occur even in young individuals. This drug causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. This complication can occur despite the route of use.
Cocaine can induce myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle), and myocarditis is a common finding on autopsy in individuals dying from cocaine abuse.
Cocaine can also cause cardiomyopathy (weakness of the heart muscle), which eventually leads to heart failure.
Cocaine might induce bradycardia (slow heart rate), tachycardia (fast heart rate), and a variety of heart rhythm problems including heart blocks (the inability of the electrical impulse to travel from the top to the bottom chambers of the heart)
Individuals who use cocaine by intravenous injections are at risk to develop infection of the heart valves (endocarditis).
Crack cocaine use can result in an internal tear of the lining of the main artery that comes out of the heart (aorta). This is a very serious and many times deadly condition.
Besides these serious heart conditions, intravenous use of cocaine increases the risk of infections, including HIV.
What are the effects of amyloidosis on the heart?
Amyloidosis is a disease that results from deposition of certain types of proteins in different organs of the body.
Amyloidosis is either a primary disease, meaning it is a standalone disease affecting around 5–10 people per million per year, or a secondary disease, meaning it is a complication of another disease, like tuberculosis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Multiple systems of the body are affected.These include the lungs, kidneys, heart, glands, gastrointestinal system (gut), muscles, bones, nerves, and brain.
When amyloidosis affects the heart, it can lead to various complications. Amyloid cardiomyopathy happens when this protein invades the heart muscle. This leads to weakening of the heart muscle, which precipitates heart failure.
The involvement of the heart muscle and conduction system (the electrical wiring of the heart) leads to heart rhythm diseases and can even lead to sudden death. The rhythm can be fast or slow.
In addition to directly affecting the heart, amyloidosis also affects other organ systems as mentioned above, which makes the heart condition difficult to treat.
Amyloidosis is a rare disease, and the treatment consists mostly of treating the complications and symptoms. Currently, no curative treatment exists.
How can pharyngitis affect the heart?
Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the pharynx (throat) caused by an infection.This infection is usually viral or bacterial. It usually manifests as sore and red throat, enlarged tonsils and lymph nodes, and fever. Sometimes the infecting organism results in a condition called scarlet fever, which usually involves sore throat, skin rash, and a white-coated tongue that changes to shiny red in a few days.
When bacteria (typically streptococcus) cause this infection, there is a potential for a secondary complication called rheumatic fever. Rheumatic heart disease can be a complication of rheumatic fever and results in destruction of the heart valves.
Rheumatic fever is often a recurrent condition and is preventable with antibiotic treatment. Rheumatic fever manifests as a combination of 1 or more of the following: arthritis (pain in the joints), inflammation of the heart and its valves, changes in mental status, and skin rash.
Carditis (inflammation of the heart) involves the whole heart and causes chest pain. In addition to carditis, inflammation of the heart valves may lead to narrowing or leakage of the heart valves. Valve damage may persist beyond the acute episode of rheumatic fever.
Heart valve damage is a serious and common complication of rheumatic fever leading to multiple problems in the future. In addition to the narrowing or leakage of the valve, heart rhythm abnormalities may occur.
Currently, because of the availability of antibiotics, this problem occurs less often. Early treatment with antibiotics prevents the progression of pharyngitis or scarlet fever to rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.
Can anemia affect the heart?
Anemia refers to a reduction in the number of circulating red blood cells or a decrease in hemoglobin (a measure of red blood cell concentration). Red blood cells carry oxygen to the various organs of the body. General presentation of anemia includes shortness of breath on exertion, fatigue, dizziness, palpitations (the sensation of fast heartbeats), and a pale skin color.
Several conditions cause anemia, including blood loss, increased destruction of red blood cells, or decreased production of red blood cells.
Heart conditions related to anemia include increased heart rate, which might occasionally lead to rhythm abnormalities. Because the heart is trying to compensate for the decreased ability of the blood to deliver oxygen to the organs, the workload of the heart increases, and this might lead to or worsen already existing heart failure.
Individuals with underlying coronary heart disease may experience increased frequency of chest pain that can occasionally result in a heart attack.
For individuals with heart failure, anemia almost doubles their chances of poor outcomes. Heart failure is worsened by anemia. Correcting anemia in these individuals might improve their survival and heart and kidney functions.
