Heavy Drinking Has Gender-Specific Effects

We know, by now, that men and women’s hearts react differently to disease – at least, to coronary vascular disease.  A new study, however, shows that a gender difference also occurs in patients who drink heavily.  Dr Mahmud, reporting at the American Society of Hypertension meeting, studied the link between heavy drinking and cardiac changes in patients from St James Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.  Two hundred consecutive patients referred to the hypertension clinic were classified into 3 categories – non-drinkers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers.  (Heavy drinking was defined as more than 21 drinks a week for men and more than 14 drinks a week for women.)  20% of the women and 40% of the men fell into the heavy drinkers category.
The heart muscle, stiffness of arteries, and blood pressure inside the aorta were measured.  Heavy-drinking men were most likely to have high blood pressure and stiffening of the arteries and heart muscle, while women in the same category were most likely to have enlarged hearts.
Dr. Mahmud felt that the most worrisome aspect of his study is the findings in women, where the effect seems to be a direct toxic effect of alcohol.  People with an enlarged heart are 5 to 6 times more likely to have a heart attack.  And it’s hard to bring it back to its normal size.  Though many studies have shown that moderate drinking improves heart health, heavy drinking causes serious harm.