Heavy drinking ‘increases the risk of heart disease in men’

Men who drink heavily are increasing their risk of contracting heart disease, according to a study.

If they continue to drink large quantities of alcohol regularly for a number of years, they could prematurely age their arteries, say researchers.

They study by University College London examined 3,869 participants, three quarters of them men, and found that drinking large amounts of alcohol affects the elasticity of arterial walls, interfering with blood flow.

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Researchers looked at the drinking habits of people aged 30 to 60 over a period of 25 years.

The study concluded: “This work demonstrates that consistently heavy alcohol consumption is associated with higher cardiovascular risk, especially among males.

“On the whole, the findings are compatible with the notion that consistently moderate alcohol intake is associated with lower cardiovascular risk.”

The participants’ alcohol consumption was compared with measurements of the main arteries in the neck and thigh.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Dr Darragh O’Neill, lead author of the study at UCL, said: “Heavier alcohol intake may activate certain enzymes that would lead to collagen accumulation, which could, in turn exacerbate the rate of arterial stiffening.

“Based on these findings, the research team wants to look at multiple groups of people – since this study was limited to a single group that was mostly male – and identify the relationship that drinking patterns over time have with other indicators of cardiovascular disease.”

The researchers said that cardiovascular disease remains the world’s leading cause of death – nearly one third.

Last year, the chief medical officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, lowered the official safe drinking advice in the UK to a maximum of 14 units – about six pints of beer – per week.