1 62 ACTION OF ALCOHOL ON THE HEART. 



the blood, which is forcibly sent into it by the heart, 

 may stretch its walls and make it swell out and become 

 thin. Such a swelling on an artery is named an aneurism. 

 An aneurism usually ends by bursting, and the person 

 bleeds to death. 



11. The Action of most Alcoholic Drinks on the Heart is 

 to excite it and hurry its beat. Whether pure alcohol, 

 diluted with water, has this action, is not certain. It is 

 certain that most ordinary alcoholic drinks, as wines and 

 spirits, have it. When the beating of the heart is quick- 

 ened, each contraction of its muscles takes about as long 

 as when it beats slower, but the time of repose between 

 the beats is shortened. The result is that the heart is 

 overworked. It has not sufficient rest for its proper 

 nourishment, and gradually undergoes a change known 

 as fatty degeneration. Fatty or oily matter takes the place 

 of the proper muscle-substance, and the heart, becoming 

 more and more weakened, at last cannot pump the blood 

 over the body. The consequence, of course, is death. 

 Fatty degeneration of the heart is so often due to indul- 

 gence in alcoholic stimulants, that a fatty heart is often 

 called by physicians a "whiskey-heart.' 



II. What is the action on the heart of all ordinary alcoholic drinks ? 

 How is the resting time of the heart affected when its beat is quick- 

 ened ? Result ? What is fatty degeneration ? Consequence when 

 it occurs in the heart ? 



