These can increase a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). After all, moderate alcohol intake is seen as a toast to your long-term cardiovascular health. Weekend warriors often justify heavy Friday sessions with Saturday spin classes. Sadly, the heart doesn’t use an abacus to calculate averages. Binge drinking—defined as 6+ units in a single sitting—spikes blood pressure and can provoke “holiday heart syndrome,” a fancy label for booze‑induced atrial fibrillation. Even fit athletes are not spared; ER staff report surges of otherwise healthy runners arriving with racing, erratic pulses after raucous weddings or match‑day booze‑ups.
Ways alcohol can impact heart health
Alda-1 appears to prevent the activation of JNK2 that leads to AFib. “Still, you should probably weigh your alcohol intake with your overall heart health,” says Dr. Aragam. It’s best to speak with your doctor about what the proper amount of alcohol should be for you.
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So even if you don’t have any alcohol during the week, you shouldn’t save all of your drinking for the weekend and overdo it. It’s important to check with your doctor before you start drinking alcohol after heart surgery. If it’s not treated, over time high blood pressure can lead to fatty material (plaques) building up in the arteries, which increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke. From raising blood pressure to increasing the risk of a heart attack, drinking too much alcohol can have a serious impact on your heart. For example, some people who are on cholesterol-lowering medicines may experience muscle aches when they drink alcohol.
The Positive Side: Moderate Drinking and Heart Health
However, evidence suggests an association between consuming alcohol and problems with the cardiovascular system. Some claim switching to vodka “for the purity” spares the heart. Ethanol is ethanol; your myocardium cannot differentiate source. What does vary is serving size deception—one cocktail may equal two or three units. Researchers at Monash University (2024) branded cocktails “stealth bombs” after observing patrons underestimate them by 40 percent.
Ways to Eat Right and Exercise with Heart Disease
As such, evidence instead suggests that drinking alcohol in any amount can be harmful. One of the most important things your heart does is keep a rhythm. On average, a regular heart rate is about 60 to 100 beats per minute when your body is at rest. But alcohol can lead to your heart rate temporarily jumping up in speed, and if it goes over 100 beats per minute, it can cause a condition called tachycardia.
Consequently, this increases blood pressure and the amount of blood pumped out of the heart. The study revealed that more than 70% of mice given alcohol to mimic binge drinking developed AFib. However, when treated with a molecule called Alda-1, none of the mice developed the condition.
- Sadly, the heart doesn’t use an abacus to calculate averages.
- After all, moderate alcohol intake is seen as a toast to your long-term cardiovascular health.
- Many drinks and mixers also have a lot of added sugar, which increases the number of calories they contain.
- Initially, Jane believed that the antioxidants in wine helped protect her heart, but after several years, she began to notice symptoms of high blood pressure.
- Many studies suggest a strong link between high alcohol intake, or binge drinking, and high blood pressure and thickening of the heart muscle.
Yes, red wine contains resveratrol, an antioxidant that reduces oxidative stress in lab mice. But you’d need to down gallons to match the doses used in those petri dishes. Meanwhile, ethanol raises blood pressure and can stiffen arteries over time. In 2024, a sweeping review in European Heart Journal spanning 1.1 million participants found no safe lower threshold for alcohol’s impact on atrial fibrillation. Any cardio benefit from polyphenols is offset—or overshadowed—by ethanol’s strain on vessels.
- Moderate drinking — one drink a day for women and two for men — appears to protect some people against heart disease.
- In the long term, regular binge drinking can also increase your risk of becoming dependent on alcohol, alcohol-related cancer and heart disease.
- Consider the story of Jane, a 45-year-old woman who enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner every night.
- Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.
- Intriguingly, alcohol‑free beer has shown small benefits for endothelial function, likely due to polyphenols minus ethanol.
However, Dr. Cho points out that more recent data shows that there may be no amount of alcohol that is truly safe. “The myth that wine is beneficial for heart health is no longer true,” she states. Researchers looked at 371,463 adults who consumed an average of nine standard alcoholic drinks per week (see image). Weekly intake of one to eight drinks was deemed light; 8.5 to 15 drinks, moderate; and 15.5 to 24.5, heavy. The last thing you want is for that casual drink after work or glass of wine at dinner to negatively impact your heart health.
It is best for people with heart conditions to avoid alcohol or, at the very least, reduce their consumption if they drink excessively. Historically, some studies suggested that when people drank alcohol moderately, they experienced protective cardiovascular benefits. However, researchers now argue that scientists misinterpreted these perceived benefits. Adrenaline has a significant effect on the cardiovascular system in that it causes arterioles to constrict and tighten. Arterioles are small blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.
A compound found in red wine called resveratrol has been shown to have antioxidant properties that might protect the heart and blood vessels from damage. In fact, some health experts argue that a glass of red wine a day could offer some cardiovascular benefits. Binge drinking, defined as drinking large quantities of alcohol in a short period, can have immediate negative effects on the heart. It’s essential to recognize the dangers of binge drinking, particularly in younger adults, who may not be fully aware of the long-term health implications.
When the researchers set aside the impact of lifestyle habits facts about alcohol and heart health and looked only at the link between alcohol intake and cardiovascular risk, they found a minimal increase in risk among light drinkers. However, the risk steadily climbed once the weekly amounts reached seven drinks. “The more people drank per week, the greater the risk,” says Dr. Aragam. Holiday heart syndrome can happen if you don’t typically drink alcohol, but then have a few at a holiday party or if you binge drink. This can cause you to develop an irregular heartbeat, called atrial fibrillation, which can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure.
This plain‑English guide unpacks what alcohol really does to your heart—good, bad, and downright ugly—so you can make choices based on science rather than folklore. We’ll weave in fresh first‑hand accounts of people who’ve ditched or slashed the booze and what happened to their blood pressure, pulse, and ECG print‑outs. Regularly consuming too many calories can lead to weight gain and obesity, which increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. There is a clear link between regularly drinking too much alcohol and having high blood pressure (hypertension). In the short term, binge drinking can put you at risk of falls, accidents, anti-social behaviour and alcohol poisoning, as well as affecting your mood and memory.
