Cardiac Cocktail: the affect of Alcohol on the Heart

Last week, UK Chief Medical Officers published new guidelines for alcohol consumption for men and women in an effort to curb binge drinking and poor heart health.

Among the latest recommendations to keep any potential health risks low:

Men should not drink more than 14 units of alcohol each week, the same level as for women Men and women should have several alcohol-free days each week

How does alcohol affect the heart?

Before we start, it’s important to remember that we can all enjoy most kinds of foods in moderation and that combined with a balanced, healthy diet, alcohol consumption is perfectly fine (when sticking to the recommended guidelines).

But it’s always good to know the facts about what you consume before you eat/drink right?

Alcohol, unfortunately, is very high in calories therefore it can lead to weight gain, so be prepared to work those Friday night pints off in the gym the following week. It also lowers your inhibitions which might mean you find it harder to stick to your healthy eating plan both immediately after drinking and the morning after to cure that hangover.

Excessive drinking of alcohol can also lead to abnormal heart rhythms, high blood pressure, damage to your heart muscle and other diseases such as stroke, liver problems and some forms of cancer.

The development of high blood pressure (or hypertension) can lead to other such heart conditions such as coronary heart disease or stroke. To develop hypertension, your blood pressure would need to be consistently higher than the recommended level. It is not normally something that you can feel or notice – but over time if it is not treated your heart can become enlarged making the pumping of blood around the body less effective.

Through long-term heavy drinking, alcohol can also weaken the heart muscle itself causing a condition called ‘alcoholic cardiomyopathy’. Once weakened, the heart muscle cannot contract properly subsequently meaning that blood flow to the body is affected.

This can lead to symptoms such as shortness of breath, tiredness, an irregular heartbeat and swelling of the legs and feet. In severe cases it can also lead to heart failure.

The Department for Health added:

"This review also found that the benefits of alcohol for heart health only apply for women aged 55 and over. The greatest benefit is seen when these women limit their intake to around 5 units a week, the equivalent of around 2 standard glasses of wine. The group concluded that there is no justification for drinking for health reasons."

How many units are in alcohol?

Firstly, a unit is a measure of alcohol. And the number of units is based on the size of the drink and its alcohol strength (ABV). The ‘Alcohol By Volume’ figure is worked out via the percentage of alcohol in the drink.

For example:

A single measure (25mls) of spirits (40% ABV) contains one unit of alcohol. A glass (50ml) of liqueur, sherry or other fortified wine (20% ABV) contains one unit of alcohol. Half a pint (approx 300mls) of normal strength lager, cider or beer (4%) contains 1.1 unit of alcohol – however it’s worth noting that many beers and ciders are stronger and therefore will have a higher unit count than this. A standard 175ml glass of wine (13% ABV) would be 2.3 units – however, much like beers and ciders, wines can have varying alcohol content and the size of glasses may also change.

The bottom line

Whilst alcohol is fine as long as you stick to the recommended moderation, consuming large quantities of alcohol regularly can have strong adverse effects on your short and long term health.

If you consume alcohol on a regular basis, always remember to combine a healthy balanced diet with a regular exercise pattern to ensure you keep your heart healthy and strong.

More Information

If you would like to learn more about alcohol and the effects it has on the heart, you can visit the drinkaware website which is packed full is useful information.

Alternatively, if you’d like to learn more about your heart and in particular your heart health, our FAQ page might answer some of your questions and queries whilst we have also posted a few tricks and tips to looking after you health in 2016 and beyond.