ALCOHOLIC CARDIOMYOPATHY.

Three white men, who died of a condition clinically diagnosed as alcoholic heart disease, showed virtually identical autopsy findings. These consisted of global cardiomegaly and absence of stigmata of arteriosclerotic, hypertensive, rheumatic or congenital heart disease. Histological examination revealed degenerative and occlusive changes in small branches of coronary arteries, associated with microscopic foci of heart muscle necrosis and scarring. In two of the cases the degenerative changes were severe and extensive in the atria. Edema of the arterioles in the early stages was followed by disorganization of the vessel wall and subintimal accumulation of homogeneous, smudgy, PAS (periodic acid-Schiff)-positive material. This sequence of events, which suggests increased vascular permeability, is believed to be related directly or indirectly to chronic alcohol intake.