Are You Alcoholic? Stroke At Double Risk

By Religare

Friday, July 16, 2010, 16:10

People who drink alcohol like wine, beer or hard liquor doubles the risk of stroke attack.

A study was conducted on 390 ischemic stroke patients and found out the risk of stroke was 2.3 times higher in the first hour after the intake of alcohol, compared with times when alcohol was not used. It was also 1.6 times higher in the second hour and 30 percent lower than baseline after 24 hours.

"The impact of alcohol on your risk of ischemic stroke appears to depend on how much and how often you drink," said Dr. Murray A. Mittleman, senior author of the Stroke Onset Study (SOS) and director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.

After a person drinks it rises his or her blood pressure as well as blood platelets become stickier, which will increase the possibility of a clot forming.
On the other hand, regular consumption with less amount of drinks will benefit a person in the blood lipids and more flexible blood vessels, which may reduce stroke risk. But this study may not be applicable to patients with severe stroke.

Scientists have advised to have a moderate drinking habits that is no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.