Heart and Alcohol

[courtney]

My friend drank excessively one night.  She weighs 105 pounds and she drank to the point of extreme drunkeness.  Before she passed out, she cried, screamed, fainted many times, changed different colours, shook, vomited many times, and complained of extreme dizziness.  Now, the next day, she is prostrate on the bed, and aside from the usual hangover symptoms, her heart is racing.  What do you think we should do with her?  Her heart seems to be literally beating out of her chest.  Although she barely got up to eat and go to the bathroom, her pulse is that as if she had been running up and down stairs for hours.

[M. Cain]

Your friend is suffering from the effects of alcohol abuse.  The PALPITATIONS (which is just a fancy way of saying that you are "aware" of your heartbeat) are part of withdrawl, along with the dizziness and hangover. If the pulse is very rapid (over 120 beats per minute), then that is called "tachycardia". It can be dangerous. If the heart rate increases too much, it can lead to  atrial/ventricular (top/bottom of the heart) fibrillation (which is when the heart just vibrates and cannot pump the blood). Atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation can be life-threatening. It can also be a precursor to cardiac failure -- in which the alcohol weakens the heart muscle and the heart becomes enlarged. I would hope that you took your friend to a walk-in medical center or an emergency room before using the internet. Alcohol abuse is a serious problem. Excessive drinking can usually be a sign of a problem drinker. You should talk to your friend and tell her to talk with health professionals about alcohol abuse. Early intervention can help . . .  the health and mental problems she will suffer will only get progressively worse.