Alcohol and Heart Disease: Is There a Link?

However, in a recently conducted Mendelian randomization study, Vu and colleagues (2016) reported that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption reduced triglyceride and LDL-c and increased HDL-c, in particular the HDL2-c subfraction. Interestingly, the researchers found a nonlinear effect of alcohol consumption on HDL2-c levels. This supports the findings from other studies that the alcohol-induced changes in HDL-c do not fully account for the lower risk of CHD in moderate alcohol drinkers (Mukamal 2012). Does some alcohol consumption protect some people against ischaemic diseases to some degree? Epidemiological data, as outlined in this review, suggest that this is the case (Table 1).

Health and regulatory authorities have recently highlighted the risk of consumption among pregnant and lactating women, children, adolescents, young adults, and people with underlying heart and other health conditions. The above studies are correlational; thus, causation cannot be determined. In addition, the maternal caffeine intake in these studies was estimated based on self-reports. One potential explanation for the discrepancies described above is the method used to determine caffeine use. In the study by Klebanoff and Keim (152, 153), which found no significant relationship between maternal caffeine intake and outcomes after infancy, measured serum caffeine concentrations and did not use self-report (152, 153). Caffeine intake was estimated from food-frequency questionnaires or interviews in which women reported how often and how much they consumed coffee, tea, and soda.

Does Excessive Drinking Contribute to Heart Disease?

Studies using different methodologies have shown that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption decreases platelet activation and aggregation in certain cases—for example, in response to certain physiologic stimuli such as adenosine 5′-diphosphate (Salem and Laposata 2005). On the other hand, significant daily alcohol consumption increases platelet aggregation and reactivity. Infection or other stressful events also can lead to immune-triggered platelet production, a condition called rebound thrombocytosis, which may occur immediately after withdrawal from both heavy and one-time heavy (binge) drinking (Numminen et al. 1996). Although highly individualized and dose dependent, alcohol use also can increase bleeding time (i.e., taking longer to develop a clot)(Salem and Laposata 2005).

1. Because alcohol and cholesterol medicine both are processed through your liver, they are, in a sense, competing for clearance.
2. For more information about alcohol and cancer, please visit the National Cancer Institute’s webpage «Alcohol and Cancer Risk» (last accessed June 6, 2024).
3. Recently, Guzzo-Merello and colleagues (2015) reported that, among 282 patients with a dilated cardiomyopathy phenotype, 33 percent had ACM.
4. FDA and Health Canada need to initiate programs to educate consumers, especially children and adolescents, about the dangers of highly caffeinated products, to reconsider applying the U.S.

For instance, the more alcohol you drink at one time, the higher your heart rate gets, according to research from the European Society of Cardiology. A sudden spike in heart rate is potentially dangerous to people with heart conditions, as it could trigger arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). Heavier drinking (binge drinking) can also bring on a first episode of arrhythmia; once this has happened for the first time, you’re at an increased risk in the future. One well-known problem of observational studies is that they can’t prove cause and effect. Light to moderate drinkers tend to be educated and relatively wealthy, which often enables healthy habits and good medical care.

Populations At-Risk for Harmful Effects of Caffeine

Many studies have found that the combination of high HDL and low LDL levels protects against heart attacks and stroke. «However, this is not the most important factor in preventing heart disease, and there are other ways to increase HDL than drinking alcohol, such as regular exercise,» says Dr. Gaziano. There is a very clear link between regularly drinking too much alcohol and having high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure (hypertension) puts strain on the heart muscle and can lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD), which increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. Along with many major health organizations, the American Heart Association (AHA) warns about the dangers of excessive drinking, which can contribute to high blood pressure, obesity, and stroke. It also discourages people from drinking alcohol to improve their health, although the AHA maintains that moderate drinking (no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks or fewer per day for men) is acceptable.

How we reviewed this article:

There is some evidence that moderate amounts of alcohol might help to slightly raise levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. Researchers have also suggested that red wine, in particular, might protect the heart, thanks to the antioxidants it contains. Anyone taking medication for heart-related conditions such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, and angina should check whether their medication interacts with alcohol. If it does, doctors advise not consuming alcohol, as a person may experience a serious reaction. Health experts may also advise individuals with cardiovascular disease or other chronic conditions to avoid alcohol if possible.

This increase was also marked by a decrease in dairy consumption and an increase in soda consumption (32). More recent data suggest that caffeine consumption has remained stable among this age group since the 1990s (8, 33), a finding similar to that in adults. This stability is somewhat surprising, given the marked increase in the number, variety, and availability of caffeinated beverages introduced in the past decade. Some researchers speculate that this stability reflects a lag in data collection or in consumption trends from when products are introduced to the market to when data are collected (for example, the most recent NHANES data on caffeine consumption are from 2011). Another potential explanation is that a possible decline in consumption among younger children has been offset by increased consumption among older adolescents and young adults attracted to the increasing number of new caffeine-containing products. Advertisements for caffeinated energy drinks, the fastest growing segment of the beverage market (34, 35), are specifically aimed at adolescent and young adult males (36, 37).

More contemporary studies have not found evidence of mitochondrial injury in biopsy samples from long-term alcohol drinkers (Miró et al. 2000). Differences among results from human studies may relate to small sample sizes, duration of drinking, and degree of myocardial dysfunction. In the Miró study, alcohol drinkers also had been receiving pharmacologic treatments such as beta-adrenergic blocking agents that reduce blood pressure and also may have antioxidant effects. The way in which alcohol consumption has been measured and categorized varies, sometimes making it challenging to compare data among studies. More studies today report alcohol consumption in terms of either “drinks” or grams/units of ethanol per day or week, and alcohol consumption is measured by self-report.

As with isolated animal heart experiments, some investigators have found that acute alcohol exposure (blood alcohol levels 40 to 110 mg%) depresses myocardial systolic function in humans (Delgado et al. 1975; Lang et al. 1985; Timmis et al. 1975). For example, in one study, the ejection fraction decreased by 4 percent after alcohol consumption (Delgado et al. 1975). Most likely, the decrease in contractility was offset by corresponding decreases in afterload (end-systolic wall stress), systemic vascular resistance, and aortic peak pressure, which maintained cardiac output. It should also be noted that due to the limitations of alcohol-epidemiological studies, the beneficial associations tend to be overestimated. Furthermore, potential beneficial effects of non-heavy alcohol consumption on CVD endpoints, as described in this review, have already been observed at very low levels, such as 100 g pure alcohol per week, which, at the lower end, translates to about 1 drink every other day. Recommending drinking as a primary or secondary prevention measure for CVDs, which comes up occasionally in the literature, should be discouraged due to the substantial risks of any alcohol consumption for many health outcomes.

Substantial alcohol intake increases the half-life of caffeine and decreases its clearance (65). The pattern of caffeine use changes across the lifespan has not been studied, but tolerance to the effects of caffeine has been speculated to increase the desire for larger doses to reverse the impact of overnight caffeine withdrawal (38). Brain Changes Associated With Long-Term Ketamine Abuse, A Systematic Review PMC Variations in caffeine sensitivity and consumption may relate to polymorphisms in enzymes that degrade caffeine and in adenosine receptors, which are the primary targets of caffeine (40). Alcoholics may start to notice the effects of alcohol on the heart and cardiovascular system such as chest pain or inhibited functions, but they may still struggle to quit.

The overall incidence of moderate-to-major adverse effects of energy drink-related toxicity was 15.2% for non-alcoholic energy drinks. The seven cases with major adverse effects consisted of three with seizure, two with non-ventricular dysrhythmia, one with ventricular dysrhythmia, and one with tachypnea. Compared to energy drinks with additives, caffeine-only exposures involved a significantly greater proportion of cases less than 6 years old (50.7%) and a greater proportion of unintentional exposures (76.7%).