The more beers you drink in bulk, the greater the risk of heart arrhythmia, according to a new German scientific study.
The researchers, led by Assistant Professors Stefan Bruner and Moritz Sinner of the Department of Medicine at the University and University Hospital of Munich, published the study in the European Heart Journal of the European Society of Cardiology.
The researchers studied more than 3.000 people with an average age of 30 (30% women) who went to the German city of Oktoberfest and drank beers in various quantities during the day.
It is the first study to investigate the relationship between abrupt consumption of multiple beers and heart arrhythmias in a large number of people not retrospectively, but at the same time consuming beers.
The researchers carried with them a portable electrocardiograph and a portable breathalyzer device, conducting an on-site examination of people who participated in the "Oktoberfest" and correlating the level of alcohol in the blood of each person with the function of his heart.
It was found that, while in the general population the rate of heart arrhythmias is 1% to 4%, in those who drank many beers the rate was 30,5% and in tachycardia 26%.
The researchers studied people who drank up to three grams per kilogram of blood. For each additional gram of alcohol per kilogram of blood, the chance of a heart arrhythmia increased by 75%.
"Three grams of alcohol per pound of blood is a very large amount and not many can afford it," said Bruner. "By comparison, the legal limit on the blood of drivers in Germany is half a gram of alcohol per kilogram of blood.
with a slow metabolism of alcohol, and more than ten liters for a fatter eaten person with a faster metabolism ".
Arrhythmias can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation and this can lead to heart failure or stroke. Consumption of alcohol in a short period of time, something that usually happens on holidays or holidays, according to scientists, can cause heart problems even in people who did not have such a history.
Researchers estimate that arrhythmias detected in emergencies such as holidays are usually transient and when people are exhausted, their hearts beat again at a normal rate.
But if someone has a heart problem (diagnosed or not), then the arrhythmia triggered by beer can continue. Scientists intend to study the issue further in the long run.
The researchers also looked separately at a different sample of more than 4.100 people, the effects of chronic normal alcohol consumption in moderate, typical for the general population and not excessive as it happens on holidays and vacations.
Again, an association with arrhythmias was found, but much smaller. Only 2,7% of the participants had a cardiac arrhythmia and the probability of its occurrence increased by 3% with each additional gram of alcohol during the day.
Source: RES-EAP