How one drink a day can harm your heart
EVEN moderate drinking damages the heart, a study found.
As few as five glasses of wine a week can produce greater signs of scarring and abnormal heart rhythms that raise the risk of strokes, experts suggest.
So-called atrial fibrillation (AF) – rapid and irregular heartbeats – is already known to be caused by excessive drinking. But researchers also found a worrying impact from moderate drinking – which can be as low as a weekly intake of five 175ml glasses of wine, or five pints of beer at 4% strength.
AF occurs when abnormal electrical impulses override the heart’s natural pacemaker, which can no longer control the organ’s rhythm. The condition puts patients at an increased risk of stroke because blood may not be properly pumped out of the heart, which may cause it to pool and clot.
Researchers at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, performed ‘detailed invasive testing’ on the hearts of 75 patients who already had AF over two years.
There were 25 patients in each of three categories – lifelong nondrinkers, mild drinkers, and moderate drinkers. Those consuming about four glasses of wine a week were considered mild drinkers.
Those who had an average of nine glasses a week – and as low as five – were defined as moderate drinkers. The authors found that moderate drinkers ‘had more evidence of scarring and impairments in electrical signalling than non-drinkers and light drinkers’.
A separate study of 860,000 patients showed that every extra drink increases the risk of atrial fibrillation.
The research was published in the journal Heart Rhythm.