Low amounts of alcohol have different effects on left and right ventricles of the heart
Friday, July 15, 2011 - 17:00
in Health & Medicine
Few studies have examined the acute effects of alcohol on myocardial or heart function. While moderate-to-high blood concentrations of alcohol acutely impair conventional echocardiographic measures of left ventricular (LV) performance, the effects of low concentrations are unclear. An examination of the acute effects of low blood concentrations of alcohol on the left and right ventricles, which collectively pump blood to the entire body, has found that low doses of alcohol can have very different effects on LV and right ventricular (RV) function.