The deleterious consequences of alcohol consumption are extensively documented across various dimensions of human health, encompassing somatic disorders such as nervous system impairments, digestive system abnormalities, and circulatory dysfunctions, in addition to socio-psychological aspects. Within the domain of cardiology, a substantial portion of the ongoing scientific discourse centers on elucidating the toxic dose of alcohol. Presented herewith are the findings from a comprehensive review of the latest publications pertinent to this crucial issue.

Alcohol drinks, especially wine, have been described since 6,000 B.C. For many years in modern medicine, wine in moderation has been considered healthy for cardiovascular prevention, i.e., recommended by nutrition committees. Some regional guidelines still recommend one to two standard drinks per day. By the very recent (January 2023), World Health Organization and Canadian Guidance on alcohol emphasize that any alcoholic drink is hazardous to the health and the safe amount is zero. The risk starts with every single drop. It was also nicely summarized in the manuscript “Alcohol-dose question and the weakest link in a chemical interplay” (Explor Cardiol. 2023;1:15–25. doi: 10.37349/ec.2023.00003) especially from the standpoint of a researcher in the cardiovascular arena. The newest recommendations are based on observational studies and their meta-analysis, therefore establishing associations, pointing out that alcohol may somewhat prevent cardiovascular diseases and diabetes type 2, but with a significant increase in non-cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially cancers. Previous recommendations, therefore, may be obsolete as they were based on studies where abstainers from alcoholic beverages had inherent higher risks. The current controversy with conflicting guidelines for alcoholic beverage consumption in the era of precision medicine may stimulate more fundamental investigations up to genetic ones and find the cause-effect relations. In the era of precision medicine, it may come closer to discovering the causes of cancers and many other diseases, enabling predictions of reactions to alcoholic beverages by each person, not just in the population.

The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 which mainly involve the respiratory system may however affect also cardiovascular system. There are a lot and still increasing numbers of reports revealing cardiovascular complications of COVID-19, which may occur in the acute phase as well as during longer follow-up period. The most clinically important diseases include: pulmonary embolism (PE), myocarditis, and acute coronary syndromes (ACS) as well as arrhythmias with the very common atrial fibrillation (AF) and pericarditis. In this review, cardiac imaging options in patients with and after coronavirus infection are presented, showing potential utility for expanding and improving the full and accurate diagnosis of potential complications. Echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography (CT) are considered in turn, highlighting their best advantages in patients affected by COVID.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a relatively common mitral valvulopathy and the most common cause of isolated primary mitral regurgitation (MR) requiring surgical repair. It affects about 1–3% of the general population. Although MVP is viewed as a benign condition, the association between MVP and sudden cardiac death (SCD) has been proven. Patients with MVP have a three times higher risk of SCD than the general population. The underlying mechanisms and predictors of arrhythmias, which occur in patients with MVP, are still poorly understood. However, some echocardiographic features such as mitral annulus disjunction (MAD), bileaflet MVP (biMVP), and papillary muscle (PM) fibrosis were frequently linked with increased number of arrhythmic events and are referred to as “arrhythmogenic” or “malignant”. Arrhythmogenic MVP (AMVP) has also been associated with other factors such as female sex, polymorphic premature ventricular contraction (PVC), abnormalities of T-waves, and Pickelhaube sign on tissue Doppler tracing of the lateral part of the mitral annulus. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and speckle tracking echocardiography are new tools showing significant potential for detection of malignant features of AMVP. This paper presents various data coming from electrocardiography (ECG) analysis, echocardiography, and other imaging techniques as well as compilation of the recent studies on the subject of MVP.