Beware! Binge drinking may put your heart at risk

Washington: A new research has found that young adults who frequently binge drink are more likely to have specific cardiovascular risk factors at a younger age than non-binge drinkers.

You might now want to think before you go out drinking tonight. Researchers at Vanderbilt University stated that binge drinking by young men is associated with higher systolic blood pressure (the force on blood vessels when the heart beats) and that frequent binge drinking has additional effects on cholesterol, both factors contribute to cardiovascular diseases.

Current evidence suggests that development of high blood pressure before the age 45 is associated with significantly higher risks of cardiovascular death later in life.

The study also found differences in how binge drinking affected young men and women. Young men who reported that they repeatedly binge drink had higher systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol while young women who repeatedly binge drink had higher blood sugar levels compared to non-binge drinkers.

Researchers examined high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other cardiovascular risks in adults aged between 18 to 45. Participants were classified as non-drinkers, binge drinkers 12 times or less a year, and high-frequency binge drinkers (more than 12 times a year).

High-frequency binge drinking was reported by 25.1 percent of men and 11.8 percent of women. Binge drinking 12 times a year or less was reported by 29.0 percent of men and 25.1 percent of women.

Binge drinking rates are at an all-time high. One in five college-age students were reported to have had three or more binge drinking episodes in the prior two weeks. More students drink to get drunk, then blackout. They consume six to seven drinks per binge drinking episode.

The findings are published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.