Study Links Alcohol-Consumption to Increased Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

A new Swedish study highlights the link between consumption of wine or hard liquor and increased risk of atrial fibrillation, most common abnormal heart rhythm.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockolm studied 79,016 adults aged between 45-83 years who completed an extensive questionnaire about food and consumption of alcohol in 1997. The subjects were followed for 12 years and an association between high alcohol consumption and increased risk of atrial fibrillation as well as a strong association with binge drinking was found.

Moderate drinking is consuming one-three drinks per day. Out of the total, 7,245 cases of atrial fibrillation were reported.   

Atrial fibrillation triggers irregular heartbeat and causes poor blood flow to the body. This abnormally fast heartbeat increases the risk of stroke, heart failure and dementia. This condition leads to blood clots in the heart that may circulate to other organs and lead to blocked blood flow. People who have atrial fibrillation experience palpitations, weakness, fatigue, reduced ability to exercise, fatigue dizziness, shortness of breath and chest pain.

The meta-analysis combined the results with six similar research studies to study the response of alcohol-use. There were 12,554 cases of atrial fibrillation were included. The analysis showed that the risk for atrial fibrillation increased by 8 percent with each additional drink per day.

"While many studies have shown that light to moderate alcohol consumption can have beneficial outcomes on the heart, such as reducing ischemic heart disease and stroke, it is important to balance these benefits against the potential risk of developing atrial fibrillation," said Susanna C. Larsson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Unit of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and lead author of the study.

They noticed that binge drinking - five or more drinks on one occasion - was linked with increased risk for those who consume wine and liquor. There was no association with moderate beer consumption or binge drinking of beer and atrial fibrillation.

"We have no explanation for the lack of association with beer consumption," Larsson said. "It is likely that beer is consumed more regularly during the week, whereas wine and liquor is more often consumed during weekends only. Adverse effects of alcohol on atrial fibrillation risk may be less pronounced if alcohol consumption is spread out over the week compared with consumption of larger amounts of alcohol during a few days per week."

The finding was documented in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.