Alcoholics may be at an increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases, a new study has warned.
Several studies have suggested moderate levels of alcohol consumption may help prevent heart attacks and congestive heart failure, researchers said.
However, even low to moderate levels of consumption has been shown to increase AF.
“While generally believed that alcohol is protective against heart attacks, these findings demonstrate that excessive alcohol consumption may actually substantially increase risk,” said Gregory Marcus from UCSF.
“While alcohol as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure has long been known, we sought to leverage these millions of patient records to provide an assessment of the patient characteristics that might influence that risk,” said Marcus.