What's the Link Between Alcohol and Heart Disease?

Alcohol consumption is closely related to heart disease and can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. The risk increases the more you drink and is most substantial for women. Excessive alcohol consumption can cause may types of heart disease.

Drinking, especially binge drinking, can raise blood pressure and heart rate, increase your risk for heart attack, and even lead to a condition called alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a type of heart failure. 

Ways Alcohol Can Impact Heart Health

Alcohol can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. These risks are associated with heavy drinking. Heavy drinking is defined as more than seven drinks a week for women, and more than 14 drinks a week for many.

Increases Heart Rate

Consuming alochol can temporarily increase your heart rate. A heart rate over 100 beats per minute is a condition called tachycardia. Too many episodes of tachycardia can contribute to heart attack or stroke.

Raises Blood Pressure

Having a drink causes your blood pressure to rise temporarily. Over time, that can lead to hypertension, or chronic high blood pressure, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Conditions That Heavy Alcohol Use Can Lead To

Heavy alcohol use can increase your risk for serious illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and liver disease. Remember—heavy drinking is defined as more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. That may be different from your own definition of heavy drinking. The long-term effects of alcohol can increase your risk of the following:

"Holiday Heart Syndrome"

Holiday heart syndrome, is atrial fibrillation (a type of rapid and irregular heart beat) caused by heavy alcohol consumption. The symptoms include a racing heart, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Oftentimes, these symptoms come on suddenly but also resolve suddenly on their own. Over time, atrial fibrillation increases stroke risk substantially and can also lead to heart failure. 

Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a condition that causes the heart muscle to become weaker. That makes it more difficult for the muscle to pump blood, which can lead to heart failure. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is usually associated with long-term, heavy drinking. 

High Blood Pressure

Even healthy people will experience an increase in blood pressure after having a drink. Over time, regular heavy drinking can contribute to hypertension, which increases your risk for heart attack and stroke.

Cardiovascular Disease

Overall, alcohol consumption substantially increases risk for all cardiovascular disease. This is especially true for women. One 2024 study found that women who were heavy drinkers were 45% more likely to develop heart disease than moderate drinkers. Moderate drinkers, in turn, were 29% more likely to develop heart disease than people with low alcohol intake.

For men, the impact was still significant. Heavy drinkers were 22% more likely than moderate drinkers to develop heart disease.

Liver Disease

The liver is responsible for filtering alcohol from the blood. Over time, heavy drinking increases your risk for liver disease, which can be fatal.

Cancer

Any drinking is associated with increased cancer risk, including risk for breast cancer. Liver cancer and colon cancer are also associated with alcohol consumption.

Weight Gain

Heavy drinking is associated with weight gain which can cause a person to develop obesity.

Is Alcohol Ever Beneficial to Your Health?

While some research shows that drinking in moderation is healthy, it’s likely that some of the connection comes from the fact that moderate drinkers, in general, have healthier lifestyles and diets.

Moderate alcohol consumption can indeed raise your good cholesterol. However, this positive impact isn’t enough to counteract the negative health effects of alcohol.

Who Should Not Drink?

If you’re at increased risk for heart disease, talk with your healthcare provider about your alcohol consumption. They can help you decide what’s healthy and what aligns with your lifestyle.

People in heart failure or people on beta-blockers (used to treat hypertension) should not drink. If you have an abnormal heart rhythm, talk with your healthcare provider before drinking. 

Summary

Alcohol can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, hypertension, and heart failure. The risk is highest for those who drink heavily (defined as more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men) and those who binge drink.

Women are particularly susceptible to alcohol-related heart disease. If you’re concerned about alcohol’s impact on your health, talk with your healthcare provider. Medications, therapy, and group support can help you decrease your alcohol consumption.