Monday November 16, 11:19

Two drinks per day: Woman's heart in danger

Study finds a clear link between heavy alcohol drinking and risk of atrial fibrillation

Ggender inequality. Women drinking less than two drinks per day have no increased risk of atrial fibrillation and heart rhythm disorders, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Previous studies have established a clear link between moderate and heavy drinking and risk of atrial fibrillation among men, but data were missing for the women.

"In the latter study women who consumed up to two drinks daily did not experience an increased risk of fibrillation," wrote Dr. David Conen Brigham from Harvard University in Boston, one of the co-authors of this research.

In contrast, a small subgroup of women drinking more than two drinks per day were at 1.6 times greater risk of fibrillation, an irregular heart beat, compared to the women abstaining from drinking.

After a follow-up during a period of 12 years, doctors have found 653 confirmed cases of atrial fibrillation that did not show up at the beginning of the study.

In detail, and for those who like figures: In the subgroup of women who had not consumed alcohol, 1.9% developed fibrillation, while those who drank less than one drink per day, showed 1.8% cases of fibrillation. One to two drinks daily, the percentage went up to 1.6%. In contrast, among women having more than two drinks daily, the figure rose to 2.9%.

Fibrillation is a heart rhythm disorder characterized by rapid atrial contractions, unsynchronized and inefficient, resulting in a chaotic electrical activity of muscle fibers of the atria.

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