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Late ventricular potentials and heavy drinking.

G Pochmalicki·M Genest·H Jibril
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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of chronic drinking on detection of low amplitude signals, and to determine the relation between late ventricular potentials (LVP) and liver biopsy findings. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: General hospital. PATIENTS: 41 consecutive chronic alcoholics without known pre-existing heart disease. METHODS: About four days after each patient's last alcoholic drink, ECG, echocardiography, signal averaged electrocardiogram, liver biopsy, and blood tests were performed. RESULTS: Twenty eight per cent of patients had evidence of LVP. There was a correlation between the percentage of steatosis of the hepatic biopsy and the amplitude of the last 40 ms of average QRS (P = 0.04), the duration of the terminal low amplitude QRS signal (P = 0.05), and the number of positive criteria of late potentials (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic drinking sufficient to cause steatosis is associated with positive findings on the signal averaged ECG.

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AlcoholismEchocardiographyElectrocardiographyFatty LiverFemaleHumansLiverMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesSignal Processing, Computer-AssistedVentricular DysfunctionJournal Article

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G Pochmalicki, M Genest, H Jibril. 1997. Late ventricular potentials and heavy drinking.. https://doi.org/10.1136/hrt.78.2.163

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