How alcohol affects the heart

A new study has found that drinking alcohol, even as little as a can of beer or a glass of wine, can quickly increase the risk of a common type of cardiac arrhythmia known as atrial fibrillation in patients. people with a history of the disease.

Doctors have long suspected a link between alcohol and atrial fibrillation, but so far they have no definitive evidence that alcohol can cause arrhythmias. The new study is among the most rigorous to date: researchers recruited 100 people with a history of atrial fibrillation and followed them intensely for four weeks, monitoring their alcohol consumption and heart rhythms in real time.

Scientists have found that drinking alcohol increases a person’s chances of having an episode of atrial fibrillation, or an abnormal heartbeat, in the next few hours. And the more they drank, the more likely they were to have an arrhythmia. The new study was published Aug. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings, along with data from previous studies, suggest that people with a history of atrial fibrillation may reduce their risk of developing arrhythmias by reducing their alcohol intake or avoiding it altogether.

The authors hypothesized that the findings could also have broader implications for healthy adults. Although moderate alcohol consumption is widely believed to benefit heart health, new research suggests that, at least in some people, it could potentially disrupt the functioning of the heart. “This shows that every time we consume alcohol, it probably has an almost immediate effect on the electrical functioning of our heart,” said Dr. Gregory Marcus, study author and professor of medicine in the division of University cardiology. of California, San Francisco.

Atrial fibrillation, also known as A-fib, is the most common abnormal heart rhythm, affecting approximately three million adults in the United States. It occurs when the upper chambers of the heart, the atria, start to beat irregularly, which can disrupt blood flow to the lower chambers of the heart, called the ventricles. Over time, this can lead to complications like heart failure and stroke. A-fib can be persistent, or it can occur sporadically, with symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, and fatigue that last for a few minutes or hours at a time. When the episodes occur occasionally, the condition is known as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

People are more likely to develop atrial fibrillation as they age. It is also more likely to occur in people with risk factors such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, European ancestry, or a family history of arrhythmia. About four decades ago, doctors began documenting cases of people with arrhythmias after bouts of heavy drinking on weekends and holidays, a phenomenon known as Holiday Heart Syndrome. . Since then, a number of large observational studies have shown that people who regularly consume alcohol, even as little as a drink per day, have an increased likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation compared to people who abstain. .

Many of these earlier studies had significant weaknesses. In most cases, they have relied on people self-reporting their alcohol consumption, which is not always reliable. Studies have shown, for example, that people tend to underestimate the amount they drink. Another limitation is that people who are asked to remember an episode of atrial fibrillation may mistakenly identify a variety of behaviors as triggers. The new study, however, was designed to circumvent these limitations. Dr Marcus and his colleagues recruited 100 people with a history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, mostly men, and put them on EKG monitors that track their heart rates around the clock.

The devices contained a button that participants had to press each time they drank an alcoholic beverage. The researchers also used other objective measures to track alcohol consumption. They equipped the participants with special ankle monitors capable of detecting their blood alcohol levels. And they performed routine finger blood tests to measure levels of phosphatidylethanol, or PEth, a biomarker that gives an indication of a person’s recent alcohol consumption.

During four weeks of follow-up, the researchers found that at least 56 participants had experienced an episode of atrial fibrillation. Data indicated that alcohol was often a trigger for arrhythmias. Drinking one drink doubled a person’s chance of having an episode of atrial fibrillation over the next four hours, while drinking two or more drinks tripled the chance of an event. The higher the concentration of alcohol in a person’s blood, the greater their likelihood of having an arrhythmia.

Mariann R Piano, a researcher who has published numerous studies on alcohol and cardiovascular health, and who was not involved in the new study, said the findings represent an important step forward in our understanding of how whose alcohol affects the heart. She said healthcare providers should discuss with their patients, especially those with atrial fibrillation, how much alcohol they consume and whether it would be safe for them to reduce or reduce it. to avoid.

“Atrial fibrillation is an arrhythmia that can have life-changing effects, like a stroke, and therefore it is very important to understand what could be an acute trigger for our patients,” said Dr. Piano, professor. and Associate Dean for Research. in the School of Nursing at Vanderbilt University. “Alcohol consumption is something that we can both monitor and change on an individual basis. It is something that we can easily be aware of.

Dr. Piano said she would like to see more research on various groups of people. Participants in the new study were mostly white, and only 22 of them were women. “We definitely need a bigger sample of women,” she said.

But she called the study rigorous and added that the results were timely because the prevalence of atrial fibrillation is rising rapidly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 12.1 million people in the United States are expected to have atrial fibrillation by 2030. Dr Piano said health care providers should help their patients who consume l ‘alcohol to understand how to engage in what the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines as “low risk alcohol consumption.” For women, that means drinking no more than three drinks per day and a maximum of seven drinks per week. For men, low risk drinking means a maximum of 14 drinks per week and no more than 4 drinks per day.

The federal government defines a standard drink as 12 ounces of regular beer, five ounces of wine, or one and a half ounces of distilled spirits (40 percent alcohol).

UCSF’s Dr Marcus said the results were potentially empowering for people with atrial fibrillation, as they suggest there is a way for them to control a major trigger for arrhythmias. “This shows that these atrial fibrillation events are not just due to chance, and that there are modifiable factors that can be exploited to reduce the chances of an event occurring,” he said.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone who drinks will have heart problems. But for those without a history of atrial fibrillation, he said, the results should serve as a warning against excessive alcohol consumption, as it appears that alcohol can interfere with the properties. of the heart. “Despite the misconception that alcohol is healthy for the heart, these data add to others that too much alcohol is almost certainly harmful to the heart,” he said.

?? For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss the latest updates!