Patients with heart rhythm disorders warned against alcohol

Fourteen drinks a week could cause severe cardiovascular diseases like stroke and embolism (a blood clot in limb or organ) in people according to a research published in the journal European Society of Cardiology.

The study was conducted on 9411 patients with atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rate) who were categorized into four groups based on their weekly consumption of alcohol: abstainer (0 drinks), light (7 drinks), moderate (7-14 drinks) and heavy (14 and more drinks). The patients were selected from 18 tertiary hospitals from South Korea.

These patients were observed for a period of about 17 months to check the adverse events on them and their hospitalization for stroke, heart attacks, embolism and atrial fibrillation etc and the rate of these incidents in them were also recorded.

"Our study suggests that atrial fibrillation patients should avoid heavy alcohol consumption to prevent stroke and other complications," said author Dr. Boyoung Joung from Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

The studies show that the heavy drinkers were under a 32 per cent increased risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases while no notable association was found in light and moderate drinkers.

Effects of heavy drinking are particularly more pronounced in patients with low stroke risk while compared to patients with a moderate risk for stroke. This clearly suggests that heavy drinking must be avoided as it can backfire on an individual's cardiovascular health.

Dr. Joung added that the clinicians must record the pattern of patient's alcohol consumption in order to calculate the person's stroke risk.