Many of us enjoy a drink or two once in a while. It does not cause any harm, and can be rather relaxing after a long days work.
But alcohol bears the power of taking over your life – it can become an addiction to a point where it starts to exert its bad effects on different vital systems of the body. And the heart is one of them.
But how does alcohol effect the heart? Let’s take a look at this a bit further.
Effects of alcohol on the heart
Alcohol can affect the heart in a variety of ways, but most importantly it can increase the chances of developing different risk factors that lead to heart disease. Consuming alcohol in moderation is generally okay, but once it crosses a limit, it can start to have damaging effects. It is not possible to state in any way as to who may develop these harmful effects from alcohol, so the general recommendation from the American Heart Association is the not start drinking alcohol if you have never touched a drop before.
Some of the cardiovascular effects of drinking large amounts of alcohol include –
- Diabetes mellitus
- High blood pressure
- High blood triglyceride level (a type of fat in the blood similar to cholesterol)
- Weakening of the heart muscle called cardiomyopathy
- Weight gain and obesity
- Irregular heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation
- Sudden cardiac death
It is evident that the long term effects are many, and with continuing high consumption of alcohol, death is inevitable at a young age.
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