Published on December 02, 2016

Four Ways Alcohol Affects Your Heart

Image of group drinking

Unwinding after a long, stressful day at work or bar hopping with friends on a Saturday night can sometimes lead to drinking too much alcohol.

While drinking can be a way to relax and have fun, it can also be harmful to your heart health if you aren’t drinking safely.

Here are four ways that consuming alcohol can affect your heart.

  1. Cardiomyopathy or Congestive Heart Failure

    A condition where the heart muscles weaken and stretch, preventing them from pumping enough blood to other organs. This condition can occur after long-term heavy drinking.

  2. Irregular Heartbeats


    Binge drinking, or drinking more than three drinks a day, can quicken a heartbeat. The heart pumps at a consistent speed, and if interrupted, it will result in parts of the body getting too much blood while others won’t get enough.

  3. Blood Clots

    A damaged heart can’t pump correctly and makes the body more prone to blood clots, especially during alcohol binges. Blood clots can travel from the heart to the brain, which will prevent the heart from pumping blood to the brain, eventually causing a stroke.

  4. Increased Blood Pressure

    Hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure that can result from excessive drinking. This makes the blood vessels less flexible and makes it harder for the heart to pump blood through the vessels, therefore causing them to constrict and raise your blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk for other health problems.

Sources: pubs.niaa.nih.gov, consumer.healthday.com, drinkaware.co

If you have a concern about alcohol consumption and how it is affecting you, talk to your primary care provider. If a heart health problem is diagnosed, your provider will refer you to a Bronson Heart & Vascular specialist. Our board certified cardiologists pride themselves in the prevention, early detection and management of heart diseases. 

The Bronson Heart & Vascular team is committed to heart and vascular disease prevention and sharing easy steps you can take to live a healthier life. For a complete list of Bronson providers, visit bronsonhealth.com/find-a-doctor or call Bronson HealthAnswers at (269) 341-7723.