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- New research has found that drinking a small glass of wine or beer a day can lead to heart problems in the future.
- The largest study on alcohol consumption and atrial fibrillation (AFib) found that people who consume a drink a day are 16% more likely to develop AFib.
- Those who develop AFib, an irregular heartbeat, are at increased risk of strokes and heart failure.
- The findings directly challenge the idea that moderate alcohol consumption has preventive qualities, such as improving heart health.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
US health officials recommend that men drink no more than two drinks a day and women do not drink more than one drink a day to avoid the dangerous side effects of long-term alcohol abuse, such as heart disease, hypertension and liver disease.
But new research suggests that even taking a small drink a day can lead to long-term health consequences.
Read More: Some experts say to avoid drinking too much before getting the COVID-19 vaccine, but you don’t have to cut the alcohol completely
A study published by the European Society of Cardiology analyzed data on 108,000 people in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Italy from 1982 to 2010. The results found people who drink 12 grams of ethanol a day – the equivalent of a small glass of wine or beer – had a 16% increase in the risk of atrial fibrillation over the next 14 years.
The risk only increased with the consumption of more alcohol, as those who drank two drinks a day had a 28% increase in risk and those who drank more than four a day rose to 47%.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) occurs when the heart beats irregularly and rapidly, which can increase a person’s risk of stroke and heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, 15% to 20% of strokes are caused by AFib.
According to the researchers, this is the largest study ever done on the effects of alcohol on AFib.
While drinking four or more drinks a night, more commonly known as excessive alcohol consumption, is associated with an increased risk of heart failure, the researchers say the new findings challenge the decades-old ideas about the preventive nature of alcohol in moderation.
the evidence question the idea that ‘one glass of red wine a day’ It’s healthy
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The idea that red wine helps prevent heart disease was popularized after scientists published an article examining the culture of alcohol consumption in France and heart health as a case study in 1980, affectionately called “The French Paradox.”
The theory has had a lasting effect on public perception of red wine, but cardiologists say the health benefits of red wine are overstated. Kelly Burch of Insider previously reported that the American Heart Association said that drinking red wine does not lead to a healthy heart.
A limitation of the study was that it included only European adults aged between 24 and 97 years old, so the data cannot be generalizable to a global population.
However, according to Dr. Renate Schnabel, lead author of the study and a cardiologist at the University Heart and Vascular Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, the findings directly challenge the French paradox.
“These findings are important because regular consumption of alcohol, ‘a glass of wine a day’ to protect the heart, as is often recommended for example in the lay press, should probably no longer be suggested without balancing the risks and possible benefits for all heart and blood vessel disease, including atrial fibrillation, “said Schnabel.