Two years before his death, my boyfriend was told that he was "pickling his heart" and if he continued drinking he'd be dead in a year. That news didn't make a bit of difference to him. He went right on drinking.
The doctor's prediction turned out to be partly wrong (he lived two more years) and partly right (his official cause of death was Hypertensive Arterioschlerotic Heart Disease or HASD). That means he died of hardening of the arteries, though in layman's terms, he died of alcoholism.
His first symptoms were swelling of the feet, then to the knees, then to the hip, then to his abdomen, then his lungs. He had to sleep sitting in a chair or he couldn't breathe due to heart and lung congestion.
And while this news had no effect on Richard's choices, it had a significant impact on my choices. I decided that I would not stand by and watch him drink himself to death and ended the relationship.
He chose to drink himself to death. He was found alone in his apartment with a bottle of booze at his side one year ago when neighbors complained of a foul odor coming from his unit.
It may be too late to save your partner, but it's not too late to save yourself.