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Alcohol and Heart
December 10, 2008 While it’s been proven that drinking alcohol in moderation can be good for your
health, it is not the case when it comes to binge drinking.
Dr. Lynn Einbinder is a cardiologist. She says, “Binge drinking is usually defined
as having several drinks, three or four drinks in one sitting and unfortunately
this is a very common occurrence.”
From unintended pregnancies to liver disease, heavy consumption of alcohol can have
harmful effects on many areas of your body including your heart. “Studies have also
showed that chronic, heavy, alcohol use, even on an intermittent basis, can cause
direct damage to the heart muscle itself. It can increase the level of inflammation
and special protein called C-reactive-protein or CRP. Over time it’s thought that
perhaps that increases the activity and inflammation in the heart and could lead
to long term damage,” says Dr. Einbinder.
For some patients even one night of heavy drinking can trigger some scary heart
related symptoms. “In particular there is an arrhythmia called arterial fibrillation
that is sometimes seen in patients who go on a binge of drinking. One of my patients
had Red Bulls and vodka and came in with a very rapid heart rate, with an unstable
blood pressure and it was really directly attributable to the alcohol use that he had done,” she says.
If you plan on having more than two drinks you should make sure to eat food and
drink water along with your cocktails. Although college students commonly binge
drink, studies show 70% of binge drinking episodes involve adults over 25 years
old. |
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