Alcoholics and Cardiomyopathy

Researchers at the hospital clinic of the University of Barcelona have come up with observation that alcoholics who develop cardiomyopathy are likely to have genetic predisposition. 

According to the study, published in the Sept. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, alcoholics missing a key piece of one gene were 16 times as likely to develop a weakened heart compared to alcoholics who had the genetic material.

Chronic alcohol abuse is toxic to heart in direct proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed. But it was observed that not all alcoholics were affected in same proportion with same consumption. 

The scientists zeroed-in on a gene that influences the production of angiotensin-converting enzyme or ACE. The "D form" of the gene, which has a piece of genetic material deleted, is associated with higher amounts of circulating angiotensin, a hormone. Angiotensin tends to strongly constrict blood vessels and causes increased pressure against which the heart must work. High levels of angiotensin are associated with a form of cardiomyopathy leading to weakened heart muscle.