Female alcoholics: electrocardiographic changes and associated metabolic and electrolytic disorders.

Objective: To identify the electrocardiographic changes and their associations with metabolic and electrolytic changes in female alcoholics.

Methods: The study comprised 44 female alcoholics with no apparent physical disorder. They underwent the following examinations: conventional electrocardiography; serologic tests for syphilis, Chagas' disease, and hepatitis B and C viruses; urinary pregnancy testing; hematimetric analysis; biochemical measurements of albumin, fibrinogen, fasting and postprandial glycemias, lipids, hepatic enzymes, and markers for tissue necrosis and inflammation.