Atrial fibrillation: Daily alcoholic drink riskier than bing

A new study suggests that drinking small amounts of alcohol frequently rather than having infrequent bouts of binge drinking is more likely to increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (A-fib), a condition in which the heart beats irregularly.

"Recommendations about alcohol consumption have focused on reducing the absolute amount rather than the frequency," says study author Dr. Jong-Il Choi, a professor in the department of internal medicine at the Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul.

"Our study suggests that drinking less often may also be important to protect against atrial fibrillation," he adds.

Prof. Choi, who also works at the Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul, and his colleagues report their findings in a recent EP Europace study paper.

A-fib is the most common form of heart arrhythmia, a condition in which the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or in an irregular way.

Prof. Choi observes that "atrial fibrillation is a disease with multiple dreadful complications and significantly impaired quality of life."

The common symptoms of A-fib include an irregular or fast pulse, palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, and chest pain.

Between 2.7 and 6.1 million peopleTrusted Source in the United States have A-fib, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A-fib causes and consequences
It is sometimes difficult to say what causes A-fib. However, it appears that damage to the heart's electrical system is often to blame. This damage can happen as a result of heart disease or as a complication of heart surgery. Other conditions, such as chronic uncontrolled high blood pressure, can also affect the heart in this way.

One of the main effects of A-fib is that it causes blood to pool in the lower chambers of the heart, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of clotting.

The potential for clotting is the main reason why the risk of stroke is four to five times higher in people with A-fib than in people without the condition.

An earlier pooled analysisTrusted Source of data from several studies had found that the chances of developing A-fib went up in line with increasing alcohol consumption.

Those findings showed that for every 12 grams of alcohol — roughly the amount in a single drink — that a person consumed per week, there was an 8% higher risk of A-fib.

However, that analysis did not clarify whether the total alcohol consumption or the number of drinking episodes had the strongest effect.