Alcohol and your heart: just having a buzzing buzz can trigger an irregular rhythm

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“Our study is the first to highlight a mechanism by which a lifestyle factor can acutely alter the electrical properties of the heart to increase the risk of arrhythmia,” said study author, the Dr Gregory Marcus, associate chief of cardiology for research at the University of California, San Francisco.

The research on atrial fibrillation, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology, was unique because it was a randomized, double-blind clinical study – considered the “gold standard” of research.

Marcus and his team put 100 heart patients with diagnosed atrial fibrillation – the most common life-threatening heart rhythm disorder – under anesthesia, then injected them with enough alcohol to bring their blood alcohol levels to 0.08% – just above the legal value. limit in the United States.

The change they saw was surprising: Alcohol seemed to immediately affect the heart’s natural recovery period in a way that could trigger an atrial fibrillation event.

“The electrical changes that we observed in the pulmonary veins … would both increase the chances of atrial fibrillation to occur immediately and to continue,” Marcus said.

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“This is the first human demonstration of the immediate effects of alcohol, directly on the heart,” said Dr. Marco Perez, director of the Hereditary Cardiac Arrhythmia Clinic at Stanford University Medical Center, who did not participate in the research.

“This study, however, does not address the question of whether moderate alcohol consumption is ‘good or bad’ for the heart, especially in the long term,” added Marcus. “It just helps us understand the possible mechanisms behind the observations that people who drink have higher rates of arrhythmias.”

A growing concern

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat often described by many people as a “tremor”, “beat” or “tilt” of the heart in the chest.

Atrial fibrillation is the leading cause of stroke in the United States, according to the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, AFib-related strokes tend to be “more serious than strokes with other underlying causes,” the CDC said.
Popular anticoagulant warfarin no longer recommended for most cases of atrial fibrillation

This can lead to blood clots, heart failure, and other heart complications.

“It can also increase the risk of heart attack, dementia, kidney disease. All of those things are probably long-term risks,” Marcus said.

At least 2.7 million Americans live with atrial fibrillation, according to the American Heart Association. Many of them suffer from chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath and fatigue. But for others, AFib is asymptomatic, a potentially silent killer.
The rate of AFib in the American population is increasing: the CDC estimates that some 12.1 million Americans will have AFib by 2030. In Europe, some 17.9 million are expected to suffer from this disease by 2060.

“Age is one of the most important risk factors, so with the aging of the population it is more and more common,” said Marcus.

The obesity epidemic is also contributing to the increase in numbers, along with other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, smoking and, yes, alcohol consumption.

Studies have long shown that drinking alcohol is a risk factor for AF, but no one knew why.

“There is a long history now of evidence that alcohol can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, unlike the findings regarding coronary artery disease or the risk of heart attack,” Marcus said.

This, of course, goes against what we’ve been told many times in the past – drinking in moderation might actually help the heart.

“It’s an extremely important distinction,” Marcus said. “Many laypersons easily confuse different forms of heart disease – assuming that when one refers to heart disease it means a heart attack or a blockage of the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart.

“So it may very well be that alcohol – at least in moderation – is healthy for some types of heart disease and harmful for other types of heart disease,” Marcus said.

  • CNN Interactive: Are you drinking too much?

Is Alcohol Really Good for the Heart?

Some studies, however, are starting to question the benefits of any alcohol for the heart.

What too much alcohol can do for your health

“There are studies that do indeed report a benefit to moderate alcohol consumption, but these are not ‘randomized controlled’ studies, and are likely bewildered that people who consume light to moderate alcohol consumption. can do other things (like exercise) that are good for the heart, ”Perez said in an email.

“However, some genetic studies suggest that even modest alcohol consumption has a detrimental effect on clinical outcomes,” Perez added.

The benefits to the heart may be outweighed by other health risks, such as high blood pressure, pancreatitis, some cancers, and liver damage.
Women who drink have a higher risk of breast cancer. Alcohol accounts for about 6% of the overall risk, probably because it increases certain dangerous hormones in the blood.
Drinking can also increase your risk of developing cancers of the intestine, liver, mouth and mouth.
A 2018 study co-authored by Cambridge University epidemiologist Steven Bell found that while alcohol consumption was beneficial in reducing the risk of heart attack, even one drink a day lowered the expectation of life. Reducing alcohol consumption added one to two years to life expectancy at age 40, Bell said in a previous interview.

According to Bell, the “take home message” from his study is that “people should not drink because they believe it will reduce their risk of disease.”

“And those of us who choose to drink should minimize our intake if we are to extend our lives and our well-being,” Bell said.

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