Demon Drink Still Threatens, in Spite of Health Benefits

Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated the benefits of a regular intake of alcoholic beverages, with the upper limits of one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men. These benefits are considerable, but the emphasis must be on the words “regular” and “upper limits”. A new report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that women who consume two or more drinks a day face increased risk for atrial fibrillation.
Nearly 35,000 healthy, middle-aged women enrolled in the Women’s Health Study, completed questionnaires about alcohol consumption, and were followed for roughly 12 years. During that time, 2% developed atrial fibrillation. Those who consumed less than two drinks a day were not at increased risk for this irregular heartbeat disease. Those who took two or more drinks a day, however, were more likely to develop atrial fibrillation – 3% compared with the 2% of those taking 2 drinks or fewer a day. (I might add that similar results have been obtained in men, in a different study.)

This information is appropriate at this time of year. We need to be reminded of the risk of ill-effects from over-indulgence in food and drink; the term ‘holiday heart’ is not a figment of Emergency Room staff.