A study presented at the American College of Cardiology found that young and middle-aged adults who reported high alcohol intake (at least 15 drinks per week for men and 8 or more drinks for women) were more likely to drink alcohol than those who drank less. They were more likely to develop coronary heart disease. Annual Academic Session on April 6th.

This association was particularly strong among women, especially those who reported drinking three or more alcoholic drinks per day in the past three months.

Coronary heart disease occurs when a fatty substance called plaque builds up in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, restricting blood flow. This condition is the most common form of heart disease and the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.

“Alcohol consumption is increasing among young and middle-aged women because women may feel protected from heart disease until they are older,” said the lead author of the study. said Dr. Jamal Rana, a cardiologist at Permanente Medical Group. , Said health. “But this study shows that even in that age group, women who drink more than the recommended amount of one drink a day, or who tend to binge drink, are at risk for coronary heart disease. is showing.”

Rana said several factors influenced the team’s decision to investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption and heart health.

“We’ve long had the idea that alcohol is good for the heart, but there’s growing evidence that challenges that idea,” he says. “Also, previous studies comparing people who drink alcohol with those who refrain from drinking alcohol have not fully accounted for the bias.”

He cited the phenomenon of “sick quit”, where people who have stopped drinking due to health problems are lumped together with other “non-drinkers”, skewing the data.

To avoid this bias, his team designed a study that investigated multiple levels of alcohol use. Researchers extracted data from approximately 189,000 women and 243,000 men between the ages of 18 and 65 who were treated at Kaiser Permanente Northern California General Hospital in 2014 and 2015. . At the time, the patient had no history of heart disease or stroke, but was asked about alcohol consumption during the primary care visit as part of Kaiser’s alcohol screening efforts.

Researchers used federal standards to determine participants’ alcohol intake from low (1 to 2 drinks per week for men and women) to moderate (3 to 14 drinks per week for men and 3 to 7 drinks per week for women). (cups) or large amounts (15 or more cups). 8 or more drinks per week for men and 8 or more drinks per week for women). (Lana’s team excluded people from the study who reported not using alcohol.)

They were also categorized as non-binge drinkers and binge drinkers, defined as drinking 4 or more drinks (for men) or 3 or more drinks (for women) a day in the past 3 months. .

The researchers followed the participants for four years. Overall, 3,108 of the patients were diagnosed with coronary heart disease during this period.

The researchers found that men who reported high alcohol intake were 22% more likely to develop heart disease than men with moderate intake. However, women who drank heavily had a 29% to 45% higher risk of heart disease than women who drank moderately.

The risk was significantly higher for those who reported binge drinking. Women in this category were 68% more likely to develop heart disease than women who reported moderate drinking.

“These findings suggest that women need to be educated about the potential heart risks associated with heavy drinking,” Rana said. “Our findings also highlight how important it is for health care providers to ask women not only how often they drink, but also whether they binge drink.

But Rana acknowledged that the study’s findings may be limited because people don’t always accurately report their drinking habits.

said Dr. Sean Heffron, a cardiologist at the New York University Langone Heart Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. health Studies have shown that excessive alcohol consumption can affect blood pressure, cholesterol levels, heart rate, and rhythm.

“All of these effects tend to be dose-responsive, meaning that depending on the amount of alcohol you have, it can change how each of these factors responds and whether it’s positive or negative. ” Heffron said.

Because women are generally smaller than men, they may be more susceptible to the long-term negative effects of alcohol. Therefore, they are more susceptible to the effects of canned beer and glasses of wine than men who drink canned beer and glasses of wine. They also metabolize alcohol and deposit and store fat differently than men.

Known risk factors for coronary heart disease include being overweight, a sedentary lifestyle, an unhealthy diet, and smoking. If someone in your family has heart disease, you are more likely to develop it, especially if you are young.

Heffron said that to assess your chances of developing coronary heart disease, you need to know numbers to help determine your risk. These include blood pressure, blood sugar levels, cholesterol, BMI, etc. You should also know if there is a history of heart disease in your family.