Up to six alcoholic drinks a week does not pose heart attack or stroke risk
Harvard study contradicts chief medical officer’s claim drinking “any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk”
Source: The Telegraph
2 Mar 2016
Having up to six alcoholic drinks a week does not pose a long-term risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a Harvard study.
The research follows tough new drinking guidelines from the chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, who said drinking “any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk”.
While drinking alcohol is linked with an immediate higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, the danger wears off after 24 hours for those who enjoy an odd glass or two, the study found.
Within one to three hours, drinking alcohol increases heart rate and disrupts the heart’s normal pacing. But by 24 hours, moderate alcohol intake improves blood flow, blood vessels’ lining function and reduces clotting.
This in turn was linked to a lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke from bleeds and within the week was associated with a lower risk of strokes from clots.
But heavy drinking – when men consumed 15 or more drinks per week and women more than eight drinks – was associated with higher heart attack and stroke risks at all times.
It found that six to nine drinks in a week nearly doubled the risk and 19 to 30 drinks in a week elevated the risk by up to six times more.
“However, regularly drinking small amounts of alcohol in the long term appears to both increase levels of HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), the so-called good cholesterol, and reduce blood clots. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.”
The study was published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulations.