This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (9)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Lawrence D. Horwitz, MD

JAMA. 1975;232(9):959-960.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

TESTIMONIALS such as the Latin proverb, "In vino veritas," or the more modern, but equally immortal, lines by Ogden Nash: Candy Is dandy But liquor Is quicker attest to the popularity of alcoholic beverages. Cardiac patients who subscribe to these views often ask their physician whether they should continue to imbibe. Unfortunately, many physicians are unaware that alcohol may have detrimental effects on the heart. This is not surprising since for centuries there has been a widespread misconception, promulgated in textbooks of medicine, that alcohol is a cardiac "stimulant."

In fact, there is strong evidence that ethanol is a myocardial depressant. When isolated rat atria are exposed to concentrations of 100 mg/ 100 ml, or more, developed tension is reduced, a finding indicative of impaired contractile function. In conscious dogs, ethanol in an intravenous dose equivalent to a human drinking 120 to 150 ml (4 to 5 oz) of 90-proof . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
If you wish to suggest a topic or write an answer for this feature, write to William H. Crosby, MD, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA 92037.

Reprint requests to Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78284 (Dr. Horwitz).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?