Binge Drinking May Drive Heart Disease

(November 30, 2008) - It's not necessarily how much you drink but how you drink that impacts your heart health. As the holidays arrive, a group of researchers has identified the precise mechanisms by which binge drinking contributes to clogs in arteries that lead to heart attack and stroke (Read about "Heart Attack" "Stroke"), according to a study published in the journal Atherosclerosis. The works adds to a growing body of evidence that drinking patterns matter as much, if not more, to risk for cardiovascular disease (Read about "The Heart & Cardiovascular System") than the total amount consumed.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), going on a 'binge' means having five or more drinks for men, and four or more drinks for women, in two hours. Many studies suggest that an irregular pattern of heavy drinking brings about a two-fold increase in risk for a fatal heart attack, even as moderate drinking has been shown to reduce risk (the red wine effect). About 65 percent of Americans drink alcohol, with 15 percent reporting binge patterns in a national survey of problem drinkers. (Read about "Alcoholism")

Alcoholic beverages contain ethanol, which is mostly converted into acetaldehyde once in the human system at 'binge' levels, with the levels of acetaldehyde remaining high for many hours after the binge has ended. The current study clarified for the first time that binge levels of acetaldehyde cause an important type of immune cell, the monocyte, to become better able to stick to blood vessel walls, an important step in initiating atherosclerotic disease. (Read about "The Immune System" "Arteriosclerosis & Atherosclerosis")

"Factors like binge-drinking have been linked to increased risk for heart disease, and the newer inflammatory model is beginning to explain how," said John Cullen, PhD, who led the study. "One of our experiments found that acetaldehyde, at levels found in the blood after binge drinking, increased the number of monocytes that can adhere to cells lining blood vessels by 700 percent," said Cullen.