Direct Damage To The Heart From Alcohol example essay topic

Ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is known as alcohol. It is made by fermenting starch or sugar into different fruits and grains. Beer (usually about 5% alcohol), wine (usually 12 to 15% alcohol), and hard liquor (which is about 45% alcohol), are alcoholic beverages that are made by fermentation and distillation (1). Alcohol can lead to serious physical damage in all systems of the body, the most serious in the cardiovascular system, the nervous system and the liver. In these three areas the damage may eventually prove fatal (5). Alcohol use can start to put a strain on family life.

Situations or issues that were once important often times lose there value once alcohol enters the family. Children are especially at risk of being neglected. Alcoholism is a disruptive element in the family environment: partner and children are inevitably subjected to its consequences (10). There is a strong correlation between parental alcoholism and their children's conduct disorders. Disorders such as delinquency, hyper kinetic disorders, substance abuse, anxiety or depression and somatic problems are often times related to parental alcoholism as well.

However, only a minority of all children of alcoholic parents are affected with such disorders (10). Children living with alcoholics are at increased risk of problems because of genetic and / or environmental issues (6). They may be at more risk for alcoholism as well, just as children of diabetics are at higher risk for diabetes, and also because they have more exposure to alcohol. Children living with alcoholics often develop unhealthy living patterns because alcoholic parents often lack the proper parenting skills. They may not learn how to trust themselves or other people, how to handle difficult or distressing feelings or situations, or how to build good relationships. Children of alcoholics who lack these skills are also at higher risk for school failure, depression, increased anxiety, as well as trouble with alcohol and other drugs (6).

Often times alcohol consumption can lead to violence. In 42% to 66% of all homicides and serious assaults the perpetrator, victim, or both had been drinking. According to victims' perceptions and police reports, the offender had been drinking in 13% to 50% of rapes and sexual assaults. Thirty-six percent of convicted violent offenders reported drinking at the time of the offense and the offender had been drinking in 6% to 85% of incidents of domestic violence, according to victims' perceptions.

Alcohol consumption is also associated with increased risk of suicide in the home. People who drink are twice as likely to commit suicide and people whose drinking leads to trouble at work are six times as likely as others to commit suicide in the home (7). The gastrointestinal system is the most common organ systems damaged by alcohol. Damages include: fatal ulcer problems (bleeding or perforated ulcers), fatal pancreas problems (acute pancreatitis) or an increased incidence of carcinoma of the esophagus. However, by all accounts, the liver deserves the most attention when discussing alcoholic damage to the gastrointestinal system.

Some of the most serious effects on the body cause by alcoholic drinks cause damage to the liver. In the October issue of Gastroenterology (Volume 177, pages 1-12) there was a study that found that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a pro-inflammatory protein, plays an significant role in the development of early liver damage linked with alcohol consumption. (2). If alcohol is regularly in the blood in significant amounts, it causes the liver cells to die and causes the liver to stop working effectively. This disease is called Cirrhosis. A generally healthy person's liver usually has time to repair itself, since the alcohol is taken occasionally or only in moderate amounts (3).

As cirrhosis of the liver progresses, alcohol drinkers face even more serious health problems including: the building-up of poisons in the bloodstream (ammonia and bilirubin), buildup of estrogen in the bloodstream and possibly impotence, the development of low levels of prothrombin causing bleeding and bruising tendencies, the development of esophageal varix, swelling of legs and ankles, the development of ascites and then death. Drinking alcohol leads to a loss of coordination, poor judgment, slowed reflexes, distorted vision, memory lapses, and even blackouts. This means that alcohol does not allow people to do the things that normally require coordination and skill. Drinking alcohol can cause your blood pressure to rise, increase your heart rate, cause your heart to beat abnormally, and it can even increase the size of your heart (4). Alcoholic drinking is very bad for the heart.

Not only does the alcohol drinker increase his / her risk of heart disease, but he / she may also sustain direct damage to the heart from alcohol. Alcohol leads to increased lipid levels (blood fats) which hardens the arteries. This is known as arteriosclerosis. Drinking alcohol may also increase risk of stroke and may lead to possible early death. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy, which is an injury to the energy-producing portion of the heart muscle may also occur from alcohol drinking and could also lead to death from heart failure (12). Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is caused by maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

It is also one of the leading causes of preventable birth defects and developmental disabilities in the United States (9). It is a serious health problem that tragically affects its victims and their families. Babies born with FAS usually weigh less and are shorter than normal. They usually suffer from: smaller heads, deformed facial features, abnormal joints and limbs, poor coordination, learning problems, and memory problems (8).

"FAS is diagnosed on the basis of a combination of growth deficiency (pre- or postnatal), central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, facial dys morphology, and maternal alcohol use during pregnancy" (9). Alcohol is not horrible as long as adults drink it in moderate amounts. This means up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. Obviously there are some people that should not drink alcoholic beverages at all, including pregnant women, those trying to get pregnant; those who are going to drive or participate in activities that require alertness and skill, people taking certain medications, recovering alcoholics and people under the age of 21 (11). 1. web 2. web 3. web 4. web 5. web 6. web 7. web 8. web 9. web 10. web 11. web 12. web.