Winter is the month of high alcohol intake. Moderation is the key provided we understand what moderation is, said Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India. He was interacting with the public at the Heart Care Foundation of India stall being put up at the ongoing India International Trade Fair, Pragati Maidan in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare pavilion.

Healthy middle-aged women can have up to one and men up to two drinks a day without increasing the risk of the abnormal heartbeat called atrial fibrillation. More than three drinks increase the risk. Atrial fibrillation is a common disease of today. It occurs in about 1 percent of people up to the age of 80 and it can cause significant symptoms in those who have it. In atrial fibrillation, the two upper chambers of the heart (atria) beat irregularly and faster than they should. Blood can pool in the atria, leading to formation of clots that can block a major artery to the brain, causing a stroke.

Higher intakes of alcohol can cause elevation in the risk for atrial fibrillation. 4. In a Harvard study of 35,000 women, all above 45 years, none had atrial fibrillation or any other heart condition at the start of the study. Over an average follow-up period of 12.4 years, 1.9 percent of the women who had one drink or less a day developed atrial fibrillation, compared to 1.8 percent of those having one to two drinks a day and 2.9 percent of those having two or more drinks a day. There is a 40 to 50 percent increase in the incidence of atrial fibrillation at about three drinks a day. Drinking more than six drinks in a day can precipitate sudden death.

Drinking more than 5 drinks in one hour can precipitate sudden death or a heart attack.