Myocardial and skeletal muscle function in habitual alcoholics and its relation to serum myoglobin

Abstract Lower-than-normal serum myoglobin levels are regularly found in habitual alcoholics without recent alcohol intake and were also confirmed in this study. It was hypothesized that these low levels reflect reduction in myocardial and skeletal muscle function. To study this hypothesis, heart and skeletal muscle function was evaluated and related to serum myoglobin levels. Myocardial function evaluated by non-invasive techniques was significantly decreased and heart muscle mass increased (p