Some drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, as a result of long-term heavy drinking.
Alcoholic hepatitis can cause death if drinking continues.
If drinking stops, this condition often is reversible. About 10 to 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop alcoholic cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. Although cirrhosis is not reversible, if drinking stops, one's chance of survival improve considerably. Moderate drinking can have beneficial effects on the heart, especially among those at greatest risk for heart attacks, such as men over the age of 45 and women after menopause. But long-term heavy drinking increases the risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and some kinds of stroke.