What is the effect of excessive alcohol intake on the heart?

What is the effect of excessive alcohol intake on the heart?

Answer by Mary Anne
Dilated cardiomyopathy (heart failure) is the end result where the heart is enlarged and cannot pump blood efficiently.

Answer by B H
Mary Anne has nailed it, Most people only think of alcohol's effects on the brain. But alcohol can affect all tissues (that's why people end up with cirrhosis of the liver.) And, as she points out, alcohol is a cardiotoxin and can cause damage to the heart muscle. The result is that the muscle deteriorates and can no longe pump effectively.

Answer by cardiophile
Acute (immediate) effect of an alcoholic binge is development of atrial fibrillation, an irregular fast heart beat, also known as "Holiday Heart Syndrome".

Chronic (long term) use of alcohol in large amounts weakens the heart muscle leading to alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a form of dilated cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease) eventually leading to heart failure.

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