Moderate drinking harmful in later life

Drinking two or more alcoholic beverages daily may damage the heart of elderly people, according to research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging.

A study, carried out by the Harvard Medical School, analysed weekly alcohol consumption among 4,466 people with an average age of 76, comparing the size, structure and motion of various parts of their hearts.

Researchers found that the more people drank, the greater the changes to the heart’s structure and function, with women appearing to be at greater risk.

“Women appear more susceptible than men to the cardiotoxic effects of alcohol, which might potentially contribute to a higher risk of alcoholic cardiomyopathy, for any given level of alcohol intake,” said Scott Solomon, senior author of the study and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Among men, drinking more than 14 alcoholic beverages weekly (heavy drinking) was linked with enlargement of the wall of the heart’s main pumping chamber. Among women, moderate drinkers had small reductions in heart function.

Previous research has shown that light to moderate drinking may protect against some cardiovascular disease, while heavy drinking has been linked with a higher risk for cardiomyopathy — in which the heart muscle becomes larger, thicker, more rigid, or is replaced by scar tissue.

“In spite of potential benefits of low alcohol intake, our findings highlight the possible hazards to cardiac structure and function by increased amounts of alcohol consumption in the elderly, particularly among women. This reinforces the US recommendations stating that those who drink should do so with moderation,” added Alexandra Gonçalves, lead author of the study.

Moderate drinking is generally defined as two drinks a day (beer, wine or liquor) for men and one drink a day for women.