It has long been known that excessive alcohol consumption can damage the heart. Now a new study from Munich shows that excessive drinking can lead to cardiac arrhythmias even in young, healthy people.
The research team evaluated data from more than 200 young women and men who regularly go out and drink alcohol. During the study, they had a peak blood alcohol content of up to 2.5 per mille. “Clinically relevant arrhythmias occurred in more than five percent of otherwise healthy participants, mainly in the recovery phase,” says Moritz Sinner from Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich.
The participants’ heart rhythm was monitored with an ECG for 48 hours. The researchers distinguished, among other things, between the initial value before drinking, the drinking phase and the recovery phase. There were also two control phases. During the drinking phase, the heart rate became increasingly faster with more than 100 beats per minute.
Studying at the Oktoberfest in Munich
Alcohol can disrupt heart processes, the research team said. Further research is needed to determine what long-term adverse effects on heart health can be expected. The team had already started a similar study at the Munich Oktoberfest in 2015, but only examined a snapshot on the ECG.
Other research also shows negative effects on the heart. For example, even small amounts of alcohol consumed regularly can cause atrial fibrillation, as it does in healthy people with no previous diseases.
Source: Krone
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