People with hypertension (high blood pressure) who binge drink are much more likely to die than other individuals, says a study published in the medical journal Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. The definition of hypertension in this study was blood pressure of at least 168 /100 millimeters of mercury.
Binge drinking involves consuming large quantities of alcoholic drinks in one single session. Binge drinking is known to be a serious risk for health, and may sometimes result in alcohol poisoning. Experts say that the majority of binge drinkers are not aware of the risks. Binge drinking is considered to be a major public health issue.
The South Korean researchers found that compared to people with normal blood pressure who did not drink, the risk of cardiovascular death in mean with hypertension was:
- Three times higher, in general
- Four times higher if they consumed at least six drinks in one binge session
- Twelve times higher if they consumed at least 12 drinks in one binge session
The study involved tracking 6,100 individuals who lived in a farming community in South Korea for over two decades. They were all aged at least 55.
Approximately 15% of the males were self-reported moderate binge drinkers, and about 3% said they were heavy binge drinkers.
The researchers could not make any objective conclusions regarding the females because less than 1% of them were self-reported binge drinkers.
It is already known that hypertension and binge drinking contribute to cardiovascular disease on their own. This is the first major study to determine what impact these two factors may have in combination.
The authors say that their findings need to be confirmed in other studies. Whether the results can be generalized in other populations is unclear, they added.
The American Heart Association defines moderate drinking as a maximum of two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. A drink is defined as a 12-ounce beer, one 4-ounce glass of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits or one ounce of 100-proof spirits.
Jae Woong Sull PhD; Sang Wook Yi MD, PhD; Chung Mo Nam PhD; Kwisook Choi PhD; and Heechoul Ohrr MD, PhD
Stroke. 2010
Published online before print August 19, 2010, doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.586347
Source: American Heart Association, Stroke.
Written by Christian Nordqvist