Drinking a small amount of alcohol is likely not harmful for your heart. Red wine especially beneficial for heart health. Over the years some studies have associated drinking small amounts of alcohol with lowered risk of heart disease. However the idea that drinking alcohol might be good for your overall health isn’t fully backed by science. Alcohol and heart diseases are very common these days
Long-term heavy drinking can damage your heart, arteries or other blood vessels throughout your body. This damage is called cardiovascular disease (also known as CVD).

In this article we’ll explain the link between alcohol consumption and Heart diseases and looks at the evidence about the risks of drinking alcohol.
What is heart disease?
There are lots of different types of heart disease. The following are some types:
- Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
- Heart Arrhythmias.
- Heart Failure.
- Heart Valve Disease.
- Pericardial Disease.
- Cardiomyopathy (Heart Muscle Disease)
- Congenital Heart Disease.
In the UK and US, coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common type. It causes chest pain, shortness of breath on exertion and have problems ranging from less serious heart attacks to chronic heart failure. CHD can lead to sudden death from a major heart attack.
Heavy drinking defined
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) heavy alcohol use or heavy drinking is when you take more than eight drinks per week for women and more than 15 drinks per week for men.
Effects of heavy drinking
Heavy drinking can make you get serious health problems like
- Liver diseases
- Cancer
- Peptic ulcer
- Cardiomyopathy (heart diseases)
- Blood pressure
- Stroke
- Kidney diseases

How does drinking alcohol affect health?
Research has shown that heavy drinking can damage the structure and function of the heart before symptoms occur.
When a person misuse alcohol over a long period of time, he can develop alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This is a type of heart failure in which alcohol toxicity weakens the heart muscle.

Who Shouldn’t Drink?
When you have these health problems, alcohol can be harmful to you . Talk to your doctor if you have one of these conditions and aren’t sure whether you should drink:
- Heart failure
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- A history of stroke
- Cardiomyopathy
- Pregnant women
Protecting your heart
Adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle are key to avoiding heart conditions and the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
You’re advises that you should also:
- Quit smoking
- Manage your weight
- Move more
- Eats better
- Manage stress
- Get treatment for hypertension
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