Just 5 drinks a week can hurt your heart

EVEN moderate drinking damages the heart, a study reveals.

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 – 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.

Atrial fibrillation occurs when abnormal electrical impulses override the heart’s natural pacemaker, which can no longer control the rhythm. The condition puts patients at increased risk of strokes because blood may not be properly pumped out of the heart, which may cause it to pool and clot.

For the study, researchers at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne performed “detailed invasive testing” on the hearts of 75 patients who already had atrial fibrillation over two years.