People toasting drinks.Photo:monkeybusinessimages/Getty
monkeybusinessimages/Getty
A new study has found that women who drink more than one alcoholic beverage per day are more likely to developheart disease.
Doctora from Kaiser Permanente Northern California used data from over 430,000 adults in the healthcare system to research their alcohol intake and coronary heart disease diagnoses as a part of their study on drinking and its effects on the body.
Women included in the data who said they drink eight or more alcoholic drinks per week were anywhere from 33 to 51% more likely to develop coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease, according to theWashington Post. The study also found that binge drinking had a significant impact — women who drank more than three alcoholic drinks in a day were 68% more likely to get heart disease than those who didn’t.
According to theMayo Clinic, coronary heart disease is a common heart condition that occurs when a person’s coronary arteries become filled with cholesterol deposits and plaque. Blood, oxygen and nutrients then can’t flow as freely to the heart, and this reduced blood flow can lead to shortness of breath, chest pain and, in cases of a complete blockage, a heart attack.
“There has been an increasing prevalence of alcohol use among young and middle-aged women as women may feel they’re protected against heart disease until they’re older, but this study shows that even in that age group, women who drink more than the recommended amount of one drink per day or tend to binge drink, are at risk for coronary heart disease,” the study’s author and cardiologist Jamal Rana wrote to thePostin an email.
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In the years after the patients' initial reports about their alcohol intake, over 3,100 of them were diagnosed with coronary heart disease. According to thePost,patients who reported binge drinking were the most impacted.
According to theCDC, heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for women in the United States, and coronary artery disease takes the top spot within the heart disease category. The organization already recommends that women limit their alcohol intake to one drink per day to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The CDC also recommends several other ways for women to reduce their risk for heart disease, including getting tested for diabetes, quitting smoking, getting routine blood pressure checks, managing stress, eating healthy and getting 150 minutes of exercise per week.
“There has long been this idea that alcohol is good for the heart,” Rana added to thePost,“but more and more evidence is challenging that notion.”
source: people.com
