Table 5

Cardiac measurements in relation to daily alcohol consumption in men free of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction at necropsy

MeasurementDaily alcohol consumption (g)p Value5-150
< 1212–7272–180> 180
Number31–3444–5056–5957
Heart weight (g)442 (16)461 (14)440 (10)466 (15)0.015
Left ventricle
 Weight (g)5-151 193 (7.3)207 (8.4)190 (5.2)204 (8.7)0.074
 Cavity area (cm2)11.0 (1.0)9.4 (1.0)7.7 (0.7)10.0 (0.9)0.054
 Anterior wall (mm)16 (0.4)17 (0.5)17 (0.4)17 (0.4)0.10
 Posterior wall (mm)16 (0.5)17 (0.6)17 (0.4)17 (0.4)0.47
 Posterior wall to cavity area ratio (mm/cm2)2.0 (0.3)3.1 (0.5)5.2 (0.9)3.7 (0.8)0.036
Right ventricle
 Weight (g)5-151 65 (3.3)67 (2.3)69 (3.2)66 (3.4)0.45
 Cavity area (cm2)9.8 (0.8)8.9 (0.7)8.6 (0.6)10.8 (0.7)0.005

  • The data are mean (SEM).

  • ↵5-150 p Value from analysis of covariance with log body surface area, age, smoking (log number of cigarettes/day), history of diabetes, and history of hypertension as covariates.

  • ↵5-151 Number of cases was 21, 34–35, 40, and 36, respectively.