Alcoholism is a chronic condition, which is considered terminal when left untreated. The Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse notes alcohol is the most widely used substance frequently causing fatal results, either due to medical conditions or alcohol-related accidents. Although there is no cure for alcoholism, it is treatable and the terminal effects are preventable, depending on the intervention as well as the efforts of the person struggling with alcoholism.
Liver Disease
The Cleveland Clinic explains alcohol-related liver disease falls into one of three categories: fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis. Fatty liver is the least detrimental effect and is reversible with abstinence from alcohol. Alcoholic hepatitis results from significant quantities of drinking over a prolonged period of time. Liver failure and eventual death are associated with alcoholic hepatitis. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, cirrhosis is most commonly caused by alcoholism, and complications includes swelling in the legs and abdomen, liver cancer and immune system dysfunction. Cirrhosis is a slow deterioration of the liver that progressively worsens and leads to irreversible and terminal liver failure.
Cardiomyopathy
MayoClinic.com indicates excessive use of alcohol over time can cause cardiomyopathy, or heart disease. Three forms of cardiomyopathy--denoted as dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive--can occur. All forms weaken the heart muscle and make pumping blood from the heart to the rest of the body difficult. Dilated cardiomyopathy refers to enlargement of the main pumping chamber in the heart, called the left ventricle. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an abnormal growth and thickening of the heart muscle, and restrictive cardiomyopathy is when the heart cannot expand and fill with blood between heartbeats. Continued use of alcohol in the presence of cardiomyopathy can have terminal effects such as heart failure, cardiac arrest and sudden death.
Brain Damage
Alcoholism is associated with causing significant brain damage with irreversible effects in the most severe situations. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism explains that variables such as quantity and frequency of alcohol use, length of time used and general health status factor into the severity of damage done to the brain. A condition referred to as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome results from extensive brain damage due to alcohol causing thiamine deficiency. This syndrome has two components including mental confusion and nerve paralysis, with the terminal and debilitating portion causing psychosis, memory impairment similar to dementia and coordination disturbance. Although nutritional changes can assist in improving thiamine deficiency-related symptoms, the cases of severe brain damage do not have a good prognosis and treatment is aimed at support rather than reversing damage.
Alcohol Poisoning
Alcohol poisoning occurs in acute drinkers or chronic drinkers, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed in a short period of time. MayoClinic.com explains that signs of alcohol poisoning include significantly slowed breathing, low body temperature and unconsciousness. Excessive alcohol consumption shuts down body systems, lowers blood sugar and depresses breathing at a rapid rate that can cause coma or sudden death if medical intervention is not implemented at first signs of poisoning.
