Binge drinkers - beware of strokes!

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Also Included In: Stroke
Article Date: 15 Dec 2003 - 0:00 PDT

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Experts (on strokes) have warned people about the danger of binge drinking and having a stroke. Binge drinking is more common during the Christmas/New Year season.

The Stroke Association (UK) says that women are more susceptible than men (men's risk is still very high).

If a man drinks more than five units of alcohol (half a bottle of wine or two and a half pints of beer), he is doubling his chances of getting a stroke.

Margaret Goose (from Stroke Association, UK) said 'By getting too 'merry' people are risking their lives.'

On the other hand, however, small amounts of alcohol seem to reduce our chances of getting a stroke. Small amounts of alcohol (one or two units a day) reduce the stroke caused by blood clots blocking the arteries that supply the brain (most strokes are caused by this).
The other type of stroke (caused by a rupture of a blood vessel) becomes more probable if you drink even small amounts of alcohol.

Drinking lots of alcohol in one go also raises your blood pressure (thus, increasing stroke risk).

Margaret Goose said, 'Christmas is a time when many people drink more alcohol than they would normally. We want people to enjoy ourselves, but we have to make people aware that by getting too 'merry' they are risking their health and their lives. We are especially concerned by the binge-drinking culture among women, as more women die from stroke than men.'

130,000 people in England and Wales suffer a stroke each year. 33% of these people die within ten days (of getting the stroke).

Great Britain is a nation of binge drinkers. 38% of men and 28% of women in the UK admitted to binge drinking (binge drinking here means more than 8 units of alcohol for men and 6 for women).

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