Heart is the most important
organ in the body that keeps oxygenated blood moving around your body. This
pumping system doesn’t work properly when your ticker, the arteries around your
ticker or your other blood vessels are damaged. Such problems are collectively
known as cardiovascular disease that increases the risk for cardiac arrests and
heart attacks. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are the major heart disease risk factors. Smoking and long-term excessive drinking are as much risk
factors.
Effects Of Drinking On Heart:
1.
Excessive
drinking over a long period of time can increase your risk of developing heart
disease, which can be attributed to the fact that drinking excessive amounts of
alcohol increases your blood pressure- an important risk factor for having a
heart attack or a stroke. Spike in blood pressure (BP) can also be caused by
weight gain from excessive drinking. Additionally, heavy drinking weakens the
heart muscle meaning the ticker can’t pump blood as efficiently. This condition
is known as cardiomyopathy and can cause death in someone through heart failure
(HF).
2.
Binge
drinking can make your ticker beat irregularly making you feel breathless.
Changes in BP might occur increasing your risk of a heart attack and sudden
death.
Are there any benefits?
According to research, small
amounts of alcohol may have a protective effect on your ticker though
scientists aren’t sure how drinking alcohol at low levels has a protective
effect. Alcohol has appeared to raise the level of ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL) in
the blood, thus reducing the amount of fatty deposit (atheroma) which narrows
our arteries and increasing the likelihood to clog. Also, alcohol appears to
help prevent blood clots formation which can block the arteries causing a heart
attack (alcohol in small amounts can reduce the sudden rise of a protein
(fibrinogen) produced by the liver, which is involved in formation of blood
clots). Research is still ongoing whether drinking red wine is “good for the
heart”.
As per doctors, starting to
drink alcohol to protect yourself against cardiovascular disease isn’t wise at
all because it’s just not worth it. While alcohol’s anti-clotting ability might
protect against a potential heart attack, it may increase the risk of hemorrhagic
stroke (when blood from an artery begins bleeding into the brain). The
potential small benefits of alcohol for the ticker are outweighed by its
increased risks of developing other serious illnesses like liver disease or
cancer.
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