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Excessive Drinking Is Associated With Heart Problems

Drinking more than the recommended low risk drinking guidelines regularly and over a long period of time will not only place you at risk for developing an alcohol use disorder, but also significantly increases your risk of a variety of cardiovascular problems, which is because drinking at this level increases your blood pressure (rise in blood pressure can also be caused by weight gain from excessive drinking), and weakens your heart muscle, which means the heart can’t pump blood as efficiently. It’s known as cardiomyopathy and can cause death, usually through heart failure.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), 4 or fewer drinks per day, and less than 14 drinks per week for men, and when it comes to women, 3 or fewer drinks per day, and no more than 7 drinks per week- is deemed low-risk. If you exceed these guidelines, you are most probably a binge drinker that comes with short- and long-term health risks, especially higher risk of an immediate cardiac event.



Drinking within the "low risk" guidelines does not mean you are at no risk. No matter the amount your drink, any amount you consume can increase the risk of having an immediate cardiovascular event within the next 24 hours, including heart attack (myocardial infarction), ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke. Talking about moderate drinkers (2-4 drinks), a study found that moderate intake may have a protective effect for up to a week, and they are 30 percent less likely to have a myocardial infarction or hemorrhagic stroke within a week, and 19 percent less likely to have an ischemic stroke, in comparison to non-drinkers. On the other hand, heavy drinkers are about twice as likely to have a cardiovascular event within 24 hours and up to six times more likely within a week.

Heavy drinking is linked to a number of poor health outcomes, including heart conditions. Drinking in excess can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure or stroke. Whether or not moderate drinking is good for your heart is debatable. Moderate drinking is defined as an average of one drink per day for women and one or two for men, which doesn’t appear to be harmful to the heart. However, someone with heart rhythm abnormalities or heart failure shouldn’t drink at all.

In comparison to nondrinkers, the risk for atrial fibrillation (a common irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications) is 8 percent higher for individuals who consume one drink per day, 17 percent higher for someone who consumes two drinks per day, 26 percent higher for consumption of three drinks per day, 36 percent higher for four drinks per day, and 47 percent higher for intake of five drinks per day.

If you do drink alcohol, it is recommended that you
1.      Reduce your long-term health risks by limiting your intake to no more than 2 standard drinks a day for women and no more than 10 standard drinks a week, 3 standard drinks a day for men and no more than 15 standard drinks a week, and at least two alcohol-free days every week.

2.      Reduce your risk on a single drinking occasion by drinking no more than 4 standard drinks for women, and 5 standard drinks for men.

Abstinence from alcohol is hugely recommended in case one if pregnant, or planning pregnancy, in conditions such as congestive heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, previous hemorrhagic stroke, depression, chronic active liver disease, and in case one takes medications that interact with alcohol.
Enroll for a CPR course at the AHA certified CPR Tampa in Palm Harbor, and contribute towards the safety of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims.
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