If you have atrial fibrillation (AFib) and are a moderate or heavy drinker, limiting or abstaining from alcohol might help your heart, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. AFib, a common type of arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), is a leading cause of stroke.
Researchers randomly divided 140 people (average age 62, mostly men) who had AFib and who regularly consumed 10 or more drinks a week into two groups: an abstinence group that was instructed to refrain from drinking and a control group that was to continue drinking as usual.
Though not all the “abstainers” were successful in stopping drinking entirely, the group, on average, reduced their intake to two drinks a week, down from 17. Over six months, 53 percent of participants in the abstinence group had arrhythmia episodes that lasted more than 30 seconds, compared to 73 percent in the control group. In addition, the time to recurrence of AFib was longer and the percentage of time spent in AFib was lower in the abstinence group.
Longer trials are needed to see whether the benefits persist and whether reducing alcohol would have as robust an effect in women, who were underrepresented in the study. Previous research has found a dose-response relationship between alcohol and the risk of developing AFib.
