drug addiction

I (m, 68) had a heart attack two years ago. That's why I don't like to give up alcohol. My wife is sometimes worried about it, especially now on Carnival days, when people drink a little more than usual. Is Alcohol Really Bad for the Heart? Is there a limit? Even short and intensive consumption of alcohol can cause cardiac arrhythmias and should therefore be avoided especially by people at risk. Moderate alcohol consumption, on the other hand, tends to have a positive effect on cardiovascular diseases.
As is so often the case, the amount is decisive! The reassuring news first: For moderate wine consumption from 1/8 to? Liter per day (20 to 30 g alcohol) studies have shown a reduced risk of heart attack and stroke. A so-called Mediterranean diet with lots of vegetables, fish, and a little wine is also recommended for patients who have had a heart attack addition, a certain protective effect is ascribed to the ingredient resveratrol in red wine or in grapes.

However, there are also downsides. Long-term overconsumption of alcohol can lead to heart failure (heart failure). Women, who spend more than 2? Drink glasses of wine (approx. 30 g alcohol) and men who drink more than 5 glasses a day (approx. 60 g) are considered to be heavy drinkers with a correspondingly higher risk. To prevent alcohol dependence, you should stay alcohol-free for at least two days a week.

Drunkenness is never a problem:

But even a short and very intensive consumption of alcohol (for example, full intoxication when going out and at Carnival) can already have negative effects on the heart. A study examined 3000 randomly selected visitors at Oktoberfest 2015 in Munich using an EKG and alcohol breath test.

The cardiac arrhythmia atrial fibrillation was detected in 1 percent of the test subjects. The more alcohol was consumed, the higher the likelihood. The patients experience palpitations/stumbling of the heart, often with a heart rate of over 120 beats per minute, and they feel correspondingly weak.

Be careful with energy drinks:

The arrhythmia sometimes normalizes spontaneously, but many patients have to go to the hospital for further drug treatment. Once they have occurred, there is still a tendency for arrhythmias to recur, especially with excessive alcohol consumption.

The combination of alcohol with caffeinated energy drinks can be dangerous, especially for children and adolescents as well as for heart patients (for example after a heart attack, with heart failure): arrhythmias, high blood pressure crises with headaches, nausea, and vomiting are possible side effects.

A moderate dose of alcohol has a slight antihypertensive effect as the blood vessels dilate, which can then be seen as reddening of the face. However, if you drink too much alcohol, your blood pressure rises, especially if you also smoke. These effects are caused by an increase in sympathetic activity in the brain. This releases hormones that increase blood pressure and heart rate.

if a person in your family member is addicted to alcohol he should be in contact with any drug addiction treatment center.

Conclusion: You don't have to do without alcoholic beverages at Carnival, but you shouldn't overdo it for the sake of your heart or your liver. Even short and intensive consumption of alcohol can cause cardiac arrhythmias and should therefore be avoided especially by people at risk. Moderate alcohol consumption, on the other hand, tends to have a positive effect on cardiovascular diseases.