In a new policy brief, the World Heart Federation challenged the prevailing assumption that moderate alcohol intake is good for the heart, and is calling for urgent actions to stifle the growing numbers of global alcohol-related death and disability.
“At the World Heart Federation, we decided that it was imperative that we speak up about alcohol and the damages to health, as well as the social and economic harms, because there is an impression in the population in general, and even among health care professionals, that it is good for the heart,” said Beatriz Champagne (I know, the irony of the name), chair of the World Health Federation.
In the briefing, titled The Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Cardiovascular Health: Myths and Measures, it is reported that in 2019, 2.4 million people died because of alcohol, which accounts of 4.3% of deaths globally and 12.6% of deaths in men between 15 and 49. Alcohol is an independent risk factor in contribution to cardiovascular disease, cancer, digestive system problems, traumatic intentional and unintentional injuries, and some infectious diseases.
Specifically for the cardiovascular system, alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, cardiomyopathy, aneurysms, and atrial fibrillation. Obviously, many of these are interconnected through a serious of processes.
“The evidence is clear: any level of alcohol consumption can lead to loss of healthy life,” the report stated.
The federation found that studies that claim alcohol to have cardioprotective properties were mostly observational, inconsistent, of poor quality, not randomized controlled, and were plagued by financial backing of the alcohol industry.
“The portrayal of alcohol as necessary for a vibrant social life has diverted attention from the harms of alcohol use, as have the frequent and widely publicised claims that moderate drinking, such as a glass of red wine a day, can offer protection against cardiovascular disease.” said Monika Arora, co-author of the brief and World Heart FederationAdvocacy Committee member, “These claims are at best misinformed and at worst an attempt by the alcohol industry to mislead the public about the danger of their product.”
The report emphasized the social and economic costs of alcohol including to the healthcare system, out-of-pocket losses, productivity loss, and increase prevalence of violence, homelessness, and crime.
Not to understate the occasional polyphenols that are found in alcohol such as resveratrol, the toxic nature of alcohol, already classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, cannot be overstated. “Alcohol is a psychoactive and harmful substance that can cause significant damage to the human body,” per the federation that produced the report.
While alcohol remains at large part of our social activities, don’t kid yourself by pretending it’s something that’s good for you. It’s hard to advise people to drink responsibly that is by in large supposed to make you less responsible. Just understand, that you’re doing something bad for you and that you are responsible for the consequences of your action, not your friends’ and not the hospital’s ER. Best to avoid it, if not, minimize it to like one to two drinks a week, have others hold you accountable, and NEVER drink alone.
World Heart Federation. (2022). The Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Cardiovascular Health: Myths and Measures. Retrieved from: https://world-heart-federation.org/wp-content/uploads/WHF-Policy-Brief-Alcohol.pdf
