Alcohol and Stroke Risk: Should You Be Worried?

Enjoying a few drinks at a party once a month? You can still be putting yourself at an increased risk of stroke.

Cyriac Abby Philips, M.D., also known as the Liver Doc, has recently shared a case of a patient who went from partying on a weekend to battling for their life on the ventilator, with the doctor's prognosis being grim.

"So much bleeding into the brain, the pressure inside the skull rose, crushing his whole brain tissue, landing the patient inside the ICU on a ventilator, where he will say goodbye to his family and us. You can party without alcohol. You won't lose anything," Philips warned on the social platform X.

A patient decided to party last weekend and is now battling for life on the ventilator. He won't make it. See what alcohol does to the brain. It is not just the liver you need to worry about. Alcohol is a systemic poison. It damages everything in its path. The big white blotches… pic.twitter.com/Iq06VSTBn7

undefined TheLiverDoc (@theliverdr) October 21, 2024

Long-term consequences of alcohol consumption are well-documented, from increased blood pressure to a higher risk of at least seven cancers and a weakened immune system. However, the relationship between alcohol and stroke is less understood.

About 795,000 people in the United States have strokes each year, and of these incidents, about 137,000 result in death. With 62% of Americans reporting drinking, we look at how much alcohol puts an individual at risk of stroke.

How much alcohol can trigger a stroke?

A 2016 systematic review indicates consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per day increases the risk of all stroke types, especially hemorrhagic stroke, caused by ruptured blood vessels. The same study associated drinking up to two drinks a day with a reduced risk of ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke caused by a blood clot.

However, the myth about light or moderate drinking having cardiovascular benefits was once again busted by a 2019 study published in the Lancet. It found that having one to two alcoholic drinks daily increased stroke risk by 10-15%, while those consuming four drinks daily had 35% higher odds.

Andrew Smyth, a professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Galway and the co-author of The INTERSTROKE Study investigating the risk factors for stroke, says he and his colleagues didn't find any change in the risk of ischaemic stroke with low alcohol intake, defined as having from one to seven drinks a week.

At the same time, the study found a trend towards increased odds of intracerebral hemorrhage, although there was a relatively small number of people with low levels of alcohol consumption who experienced this subtype of stroke.

Nevertheless, the findings of the study co-authored by Smyth echoed those of previous research, associating high alcohol consumption with elevated stroke risk. More specifically, having more than 14 drinks per week for women and more than 21 drinks per week for men raised stroke risk by 57%.

The findings come as a warning also for those who engage in occasional binge drinking. Having more than five drinks in one day at least once a month was associated with a 39% higher risk in all stroke types.

How does alcohol increase stroke risk?

Smyth explains that alcohol consumption is linked with increases in blood pressure and changes in cholesterol and other substances in the blood that modify the risk of stroke.

Moreover, alcohol consumption may be linked with atrial fibrillation, also known as an irregular heartbeat, which is also strongly associated with the risk of ischaemic stroke.

While a single glass of wine on a special occasion may not necessarily trigger a stroke, it doesn't have much benefit, either. The World Health Organization emphasizes that there is no safe amount of alcohol that does not affect health.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, along with asbestos, radiation, and tobacco.

Sober October is over, but your alcohol-free journey can start at any time – there is no safe amount of alcohol.