The effects of alcohol on the human body are not only confined to the immediate aftereffects of lowered inhibitions, increased hangovers, and blackouts. But it can also have long-term effects on our bodies, brains, immunological systems, and hearts.

These consequences are masked by our focus on the momentary impacts of alcohol consumption. The truth is that specific long-term effects, especially those related to the cardiovascular system, build slowly over time, making them hard to notice the day after they begin. Finding solutions to problems is more challenging if they’ve persisted for a while.

Fortunately, this article helps you identify the relationship between alcohol and heart health with a detailed list of alcohol-related cardiac diseases and strategies to manage them.

Understanding the relationship between alcohol and heart health

You probably already know that it’s unhealthy to drink alcohol frequently or in large quantities. However, you might have heard conflicting information about alcohol’s effects on the heart. Does alcohol put your heart health at risk?

The answer is yes. Alcohol is a depressive, meaning it slows down the rate at which your brain controls your body. It only takes a little bit to impair vital processes like communication and movement. Consuming huge quantities at once can cause dangerously low heart and respiratory rates.

Regular drinkers may report that alcohol has less of an impact on their lives, but this is actually a sign that their bodies have built a tolerance to its effects.

To understand how alcohol affects your heart, you must determine its impact on your blood circulatory system and how it works. The following parts help accomplish all this work:

  • The heart is constantly working to keep the blood flowing throughout the body.
  • Arteries are the vessels that remove oxygenated blood from the heart and transport it to the remainder of the body.
  • Veins are responsible for transporting oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs for oxygenation before returning it to the heart.
  • Blood: This is the final major component of the vascular system responsible for distributing oxygen, hormones, minerals, and antibodies throughout the body.

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What is the function of the cardiovascular system?

Your cardiovascular system is crucial to your survival. Keeping your blood pumping regularly and reliably is how your body keeps everything in check.

The circulatory system’s role in the body includes regulating temperature, protecting against illness, and distributing nutrients and waste products like oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Alcohol and heart health: How alcohol travel to impact your health

The heart uses arterial, capillary, and venous systems to transport blood throughout the body. During this process, the blood delivers various nutrients that might have been consumed. Meaning it then forms part of your body’s nutrients.

Image alt text: alcohol and heart health. Illustration of effects of alcohol to heart health.

Author credit: By Talos & Andel – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2855381

Research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption has beneficial effects on blood flow. When used in moderation, alcohol can aid in maintaining a healthy blood fat profile, lowering the risk of blood clots and atherosclerotic plaque buildup.

But drinking to excess can weaken your cardiovascular system. If you excessively consume alcohol, your heart may not work as it should, and your blood may not be circulated through your body as efficiently as it might. Not enough blood flow can lead to blocked arteries and oxygen deprivation, leading to cell death.

Therefore, those who drink more than a modest quantity put themselves at greater risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and premature mortality.

What kinds of cardiovascular illnesses are linked to alcohol consumption?

When you drink, your heart and blood vessels take a hit. Drinking might momentarily raise your blood pressure and heart rate. Drinking excessively can damage the heart muscle, elevate blood pressure, and cause irregular heartbeats over the long term. All of these factors can boost the danger of alcohol-related cardiac disease.

In a nutshell, drinking too much alcohol increases the risk of developing:

  • High blood pressure
  • Heart failure/attack
  • Stroke
  • Cardiomyopathy

Alcohol and heart attack

Maintaining a healthy heartbeat requires oxygen delivery to the heart muscle. When blood flow in an artery that usually carries oxygen and nutrients to the cardiac muscle is slowed or stopped altogether, this results in a heart attack.

This primarily happens when fat, plaque, and cholesterol slowly accumulate, narrowing the coronary arteries and cutting off blood supply to the heart. So, where does alcohol come in?

Blood fat levels may rise with alcohol use. Excessive triglycerides are typically accompanied by low cholesterol and high-bad cholesterol. High levels of unhealthy cholesterol exacerbate plaque buildup in the arteries, and if plaque bursts off, it can cause a heart attack.

Alcohol and stroke

Alcohol consumption increases your risk of developing both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

Ischemic stroke

This happens when a blockage in an artery supplies blood to your brain. Besides, a clot can form in the artery or a piece of debris to break off and become trapped in the artery, preventing blood flow.

Ischemic stroke is more likely when drinking alcohol is involved since alcohol might raise the risk of:

  • Produce a clot in the brain’s blood artery due to an erratic heartbeat and weakening of the heart muscle.
  • An increase in blood fat levels (bad cholesterol) can lead to a stroke if it causes a blood clot to form in an already partially blocked artery.
  • Developing high blood pressure, especially if a foreign body, like a piece of plaque, splits off, enter the bloodstream, and lodge in a cerebral vessel.

Hemorrhagic stroke

This happens when an artery in the brain ruptures and bleeds.

Because it can raise blood pressure, alcohol is a risk factor for hemorrhagic strokes. Arterial walls, especially those found in the brain, can become weakened by high blood pressure, increasing the risk of rupture and subsequent bleeding.

Alcohol and heart health: The general effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system

Increases your heart rate

The frequency at which your heart beats each minute is known as your heart rate. The intervals between cardiac contractions can change randomly after consuming alcohol. According to the findings of specific studies, regular and excessive drinking could trigger episodes of tachycardia.

Consistent tachycardia can lead to blood clots, increasing the likelihood of a stroke or cardiac arrest. Still, these complications can vary with the episodes’ frequency, duration, and severity.

Increases high blood pressure

The pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the arteries and veins is what doctors call blood pressure. When the heart pumps blood through the arteries faster than usual, it causes high blood pressure.

Blood pressure can temporarily rise after a single alcoholic beverage, and chronic excessive drinking can lead to alcohol-caused hypertension if it exceeds national recommendations. Several studies have demonstrated that reducing alcohol consumption reduces blood pressure, suggesting that there are multiple pathways by which alcohol raises blood pressure.

Causes irregular or abnormal heart rate

An arrhythmia is a disturbance in the normal rhythm of the heart. Blockages in signals, aberrant routes, overactive heart cells, medications, and stimulants are all potential causes of arrhythmias.

The heart can beat too slowly (bradycardia) or too quickly (tachycardia), both of which are examples of arrhythmias. Arrhythmias are a leading cause of both sudden cardiac death and cerebrovascular accidents.

Alcohol triggers acute heart rhythm abnormalities, the most frequent of which is atrial fibrillation. These irregularities also referred to as “holiday heart,” were discovered to be more common following weekends and holidays like Christmas and New Year’s, when alcohol intake is typically higher.

Reduces cardiac muscle strength

The heart is vital in transporting oxygen and nutrients throughout the body by unidirectionally pumping blood at high pressure. The heart automatically regulates the rate and strength of its contractions to meet the body’s demands.

Although the heart’s architecture is intricate, it’s capacity to contract results from a layer of muscle inside the heart wall. Additionally, cardiomyopathy (the medical term for heart muscle damage) is a possible outcome of excessive alcohol use.

Cardiomyopathy may weaken the heart’s chambers, thus expanding to cause less effective contractions. This condition may eventually result in congestive heart failure: a condition in which the heart fails to pump adequate blood to meet the body’s needs.

Conclusion

There is a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and cardiac disease. Consistent research has linked heavy alcohol consumption to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other health problems. Heart damage, such as arrhythmia, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and stroke, are all possible outcomes of chronic alcohol consumption. There is a correlation between heavy drinking and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Therefore, limit or avoid excessive alcohol consumption if you want to live a heart-healthy life without alcohol-related cardiac disorders.