Binge Drinking Increases Heart Risk by 70 Percent, Study

A new study published in the online journal Epidemiology has revealed that people indulging in binge drinking are at a 70 percent higher risk for heart attacks.

The researchers reported that the health risks related to drinking are particularly higher at the start of the drinking session.

Binge drinkers were seen to have increased blood pressure especially during the first hours of consumption.

The choice of alcohol is also said to play an influence. People who binge drink on whiskey, gin or vodka were at a higher risk for heart attacks than those who consumed beer or wine.

People who avoided alcohol during the weekdays and then binge drank during the weekends were also reported to be at an increased risk to heart related ailments.

For the study, the team of scientists from Harvard School of Public Health incorporated studies from several other academic sources as well which includes medical reports from Australia, US, Canada and the Netherlands.

Overall, the drinking habits of more than 4000 heart attack patients were analysed. The test subjects were asked to provide details on kind of alcohol they consumed and the frequency with which they drank.

As per the results obtained it was observed that people involved in binge drinking had the highest risk of heart attack at 72 percent during the first hour. The risk then gradually lowers by the third hour.

The study concludes "habitual moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of heart attacks, whereas binge drinking is associated with higher cardiovascular risk."