In a large study that caught the eyes of many at the American College of Cardiology’s big yearly meeting, scientists found a worrying connection between drinking alcohol and the risk of heart disease, especially in young to middle-aged women.
They discovered that women who enjoy more than one drink a day, adding up to eight or more a week, are much more likely to face heart problems compared to those who drink less.
Interestingly, the danger seems to soar for anyone who often drinks a lot at once, known as “binge” drinking. This habit and heart issues are closely linked, with women facing even higher risks.
The research zoomed in on adults aged 18 to 65, making it one of the broadest studies to explore how drinking can affect heart health.
This is crucial because, lately, more young people in the U.S. are having heart issues, and at the same time, more women are reaching for a drink than in past years.
Dr. Jamal Rana, a heart doctor and the lead researcher, was particularly surprised by the findings. He expected to see these risks in older women but not in the younger crowd.
His work highlights a significant health concern: even moderate drinking, without going to the extremes of binge drinking, can put young women at risk.
The study looked at over 430,000 patients of Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, including about 243,000 men and 189,000 women. The average participant was around 44 years old, and none had heart disease when the study began.
To understand their drinking habits, the researchers used a special screening from the patients’ regular check-ups, which helped people accurately report how much they drink.
Over four years, the researchers watched to see who would develop coronary heart disease, a condition where the heart’s arteries get narrow, reducing blood flow and sometimes leading to heart attacks. They found that, as alcohol intake went up, so did the risk of heart disease.
For women who drank heavily, the risk of heart disease jumped by 45% compared to light drinkers, and by 29% compared to those who drank a moderate amount.
Binge drinking women faced an even steeper risk, being 68% more likely to develop heart disease compared to moderate drinkers. For men, heavy drinking raised their heart disease risk by 33% compared to moderate drinking.
Dr. Rana points out a common misconception: many women believe they’re safe from heart disease until they’re older. Yet, this study shows that heavy drinking or binge drinking can put even young or middle-aged women at risk.
The study also noted that moderate drinking didn’t significantly change the risk of heart disease, even among those who binge drink occasionally. Alcohol can increase blood pressure and lead to changes in the body that promote inflammation and weight gain.
Since women process alcohol differently than men, the study stresses the need to consider drinking habits when assessing heart disease risk and planning prevention strategies.
Dr. Rana believes it’s time to pay more attention to alcohol as a health risk, not just smoking, in discussions about heart disease.
One challenge, though, is that people might not always tell their doctors how much they really drink, so the study’s findings could be underestimating the risks.
As the healthcare community looks for the best ways to talk about and manage the risks of drinking, this study serves as a crucial reminder of alcohol’s impact on heart health, particularly for women.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that olive oil may help you live longer, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
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