Genomic 'Fingerprint' Identified For Alcohol-induced Heart Failure

Sunday, May 4, 2008 - 19:28 in Health & Medicine

A person with dilated cardiomyopathy has an enlarged heart cavity, usually too weak to pump normally; most people will go on to develop heart failure. While clinicians know that 36 percent of all cases of dilated cardiomyopathy may be due to excessive drinking, it has been difficult to differentiate between heart failure due to alcohol or to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. A first-of-its-kind study has found a way to both diagnose alcohol-induced heart failure and possibly reverse it through therapeutic interventions.

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