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Unique Identifier 91174003
Authors: Kupari M. Koskinen P.
Institution: First Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
Title: Time of onset of supraventricular tachyarrhythmia in relation to alcohol consumption.
Source: American Journal of Cardiology. 67(8)718-22, 1991 Apr 1.
Abstract: It is widely believed but has never been proved that idiopathic supraventricular tachyarrhythmias beginning during or after weekends or winter holidays are frequently alcohol-related ("holiday heart" syndrome). The time of arrhythmia onset was therefore studied in relation to self-reported ethanol consumption and results of a screening test for alcoholism (CAGE questionnaire) in 289 patients aged less than 65 years admitted for supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. There were 102 patients having an etiologically idiopathic arrhythmia with a known time of onset. Among them, but not among those with disease-related arrhythmias, patients with arrhythmic episodes beginning on Saturdays or on Sundays were more often chronic alcohol abusers (9 of 19, 47%) than either patients with episodes beginning from Mondays through Fridays (18 of 83, 22%; p = 0.040) or control subjects from the out-of-hospital population (8 of 66, 12%; p = 0.002). In multivariate analysis, the time of arrhythmia onset was related to the CAGE response (G2 = 6.0, p = 0.014) but not to the most recent ethanol use. However, the increased frequency of problem drinkers among patients with weekend-onset idiopathic arrhythmias was only relative, and resulted from a decreased number of abstainers and non-problem drinkers. No conspicuous clustering of alcohol-related arrhythmias was seen after New Year's or May Day. Thus, although the present study confirms an association between heavy drinking and idiopathic arrhythmias beginning during weekends, it shows that the question may be of a relative rather than an absolute overrepresentation. The term holiday heart may also be somewhat misleading since no postholiday accumulation of alcohol-related arrhythmias was found.

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Unique Identifier 83124944
Authors: Greenspon AJ. Schaal SF.
Institution: Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond 23298.
Title: The "holiday heart": electrophysiologic studies of alcohol effects in alcoholics.
Source: Annals of Internal Medicine. 98(2)135-9, 1983 Feb.
Abstract: Although the "holiday heart syndrome," highlighted by rhythm disturbances after acute alcohol ingestion, is well known, the potential arrhythmogenic effects of alcohol have not been studied. Fourteen patients (two with congestive cardiomyopathy) with a history of rhythm disturbances and alcohol consumption were studied electrophysiologically. One patient had nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, one had nonsustained atrial fibrillation, one had paired ventricular responses, and the remainder had no response to the extrastimulus technique. After 90 mL of 80-proof whiskey, 10 of the 14 patients developed sustained or nonsustained atrial or ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Significant prolongation of His-ventricular conduction was seen after alcohol intake; this was noteworthy as one of the patients had previously shown Mobitz II atrioventricular block after acute alcohol consumption. Alcohol in modest doses has the potential to produce rhythm disturbances in patients with a history of chronic alcohol consumption and heart disease.

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