Moderate Alcohol Consumption Also Harms The Heart

Author: Leticia Celentano Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

Moderate Alcohol Consumption Also Harms The Heart

Even moderate alcohol consumption can be harmful to the heart, increasing the risk of atrial fibrillation.

Many studies in the past have confirmed that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to irregular heartbeat . New data suggest that moderate alcohol consumption may have the same result.

The results are surprising because, according to some researchers, alcohol may be beneficial to the health of some people, including reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

For the purposes of their study, the researchers observed nearly 90,000 people for 12 years. The results show that there is an 8% increase in the risk of irregular heartbeat with each alcoholic beverage consumed daily. Men and women are equally affected.

Alcohol affects the cells in the body and the movement of electrical signals between them. It also affects the autonomic nervous system , which controls functions such as those related to heart rhythm, digestion and respiration.

Experts explain that in recent years there has been increased attention to the benefits of consuming small amounts of alcohol. They add that the data are far from underestimating, as there are people who consume one or two alcoholic beverages a day without realizing that they may put their health at risk.

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Irregular heartbeat is also known as "atrial fibrillation" and is a leading cause of stroke , heart failure and other heart complications.

Atrial fibrillation is a disorder of the contractility of the heart's myocardium. It is a consequence of a disturbance in the natural conduction of an electrical impulse of the heart muscle, which controls its coordinated contraction in its four separate structures.

The study data are available in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology .

Moderate Alcohol Consumption Also Harms The Heart

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