Hypothesis on cellular ATP depletion and adenosine release as causes of heart failure and vasodilatation in cardiovascular beriberi.

Cardiovascular beriberi is a syndrome caused by thiamine deficiency and characterized by systemic vasodilatation, heart failure and lactic acidosis. The occurrence of heart failure and vasodilatation is yet unexplained: neither theoretical nor experimental data are known. In this article, it is suggested that a fall of cellular ATP levels causes heart failure and that the release of adenosine is the cause of vasodilatation.