Composite photograph with a narrowed coronary artery at the left and a markedly narrowed coronary artery at the right, both from the effects of atherosclerosis accelerated by smoking, microscopic. Acute gastric ulcerations in a smoker, gross. Hyaline membrane disease in the lung of a premature neonate born to a mother who smoked, microscopic. The abuse of alcohol contributes to many deaths per year in the United States. One of the most common drug overdoses leading to death is ingestion of a large amount of alcohol.
Chronic alcoholism leads to liver disease.
Liver disease can be manifested as fatty change. Excessive alcohol ingestion for many years can lead to micronodular cirrhosis. A cirrhotic liver leads to portal hypertension and the complication of bleeding esophageal varices with massive, life-threatening gastrointestinal hemorrhage. There is also an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma arising in a cirrhotic liver. In the brain, alcoholism can lead to Wernicke's disease.