Alcohol is harmful to the heart. The frequency of alcohol consumption appears to be the biggest risk factor, especially for cardiac arrhythmias. One study showed how often you can drink alcohol without harming your heart.

Binge drinking is less harmful than a daily glass of wine

Many people believe that only the consumption of large amounts of alcohol is harmful to health, such as binge drinking, i.e., for example, more than 5 glasses of alcoholic beverages are consumed within a few hours on weekends. 5 glasses correspond to at least 0.6 liters of wine, 1.8 liters of beer or 0.2 liters of spirits.

However, a study showed that it is more likely that regular alcohol consumption – i.e. several times a week – is associated with a higher probability of developing atrial fibrillation (1).

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. Sometimes it manifests itself with palpitations or a strikingly pounding heartbeat. However, it is often not perceived as a heart problem at all. You just feel tired, dizzy and underperforming, or have trouble sleeping, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Atrial fibrillation also increases the risk of stroke by a factor of five.

The research findings were featured in EP Europace, a journal affiliated with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

The less alcohol, the better for the heart

Dr. Jong-Il Choi from Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul emphasized, “While the common advice is to reduce overall alcohol intake, our study highlights the significance of moderating the frequency of alcohol consumption as an equally crucial measure to safeguard against cardiac arrhythmias.”

An earlier meta-analysis found a linear correlation between alcohol and atrial fibrillation: the risk of atrial fibrillation increased by 8 percent for every 12 g of alcohol (1 drink) per week. At the time, however, it was not yet clear what was more important: reducing the total amount of alcohol or the frequency of alcohol consumption (2).

The strongest risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias is the frequency of alcohol consumption

In his study, Dr. Choi investigated which form of drinking tended to increase the risk of new cardiac arrhythmias: binge drinking or regular alcohol consumption.

In his analysis, the data of almost 10 million people was evaluated. None of them had any cardiac arrhythmias at the time of their health check in 2009. Now it has been investigated who developed cardiac arrhythmias up to 2017 and to what extent alcohol had an effect on the corresponding risk. The first finding was that the strongest risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias is the frequency of alcohol consumption.

The more often alcohol, the more harmful it is to the heart

Choi’s second finding was that the frequency of alcohol consumption increased the risk of atrial fibrillation, regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed. So those who occasionally indulge in binge drinking seem to do less harm to their hearts than those who drink their glass of wine every day.

Compared to drinking twice a week, daily alcohol consumption (regardless of the amount) increased the risk by 41 percent, while drinking alcohol once a week carried the lowest risk. Interestingly, there was no correlation between atrial fibrillation and binge drinking (at irregular intervals).

Since harmful alcohol consumption can also lead to sleep disorders and sleep disorders are also a risk factor for atrial fibrillation, alcohol is harmful to the heart in several ways.

Best protection against cardiac arrhythmias: Drink alcohol very rarely

Dr. Choi therefore advises: “Atrial fibrillation is associated with reduced quality of life and can lead to a variety of complications. It is, therefore, better to prevent cardiac arrhythmias than to have to treat their consequences afterward. Since alcohol consumption is a risk factor that is very easy to control yourself, you should not only reduce the total amount of alcohol you drink but also reduce the frequency of alcohol consumption.”

As early as a 2016 review, scientists found that even small amounts of alcohol every day are harmful to health and that the daily glass of wine can by no means be described as healthy. Rather, most typical pro-alcohol studies appear to be of poor quality.