Does alcohol mess with your heart?

We all love to hit the bars after a long tiring day at work, or on weekends to unwind and relax. However, have you ever given any thought as to how much binge drinking can affect our body, especially the heart?

Surely, we’re not asking anyone here to give up on booze altogether. Who are we kidding? But it’s always good info to be aware of what you could expect in case you make this strictly-your-doctors-advice decision or find yourself dealing with a hangover from hell**.

Well then folks, let’s get into some bittersweet science!

What happens when we drink alcohol?

Ethyl alcohol found in beer, wine & whiskey works like an unconscious agent that stealthily invades our body system by passing through where most culprit viruses and bacteria fail – The Digestive Tract. Our digestive tract is one strong network of game players who convert food/drink; broken down within seconds/intervals into smaller units for instant absorption.

While some will head over to precious brain cells (tip: let’s protect them), others spread across vital organs such as lungs (Aaahhh…total bliss) which gets rid of 5% excessive ethanol via breath*, kidneys & liver (phew!). And an estimated 70-75% is assimilated back into blood circulation from stomach lining – AKA things just got serious! Hey don’t worry though because that last 20-25%, about two standard drinks worth leaves the body unchanged as urine output.

(See,.. It’s there 🐸👌)

Now brace yourselves for the next section – “Alcohol Mechanics”!

Alcohol mechanics

Are you ready people for some hard truth about what goes down inside your wholesome healthy heart when level crossing signals declare “All aboardoooo!”

As the liver is the main player when it comes to our metabolism, most of the work for “detoxifying” alcohol falls upon its capable shoulders. However, if you’re piling up more drinks than your system can keep an eye on – credit due we admire this amazing feat & Sincerely recommend moderation 😊😜! Anything beyond that seems a bit too much for anyone’s liver and consequently pushes these overworked cells to seep out some toxins.

These toxin-filled liquids tend to find their way towards nearby tissues affecting various organs including your heart. In fact, even just one night of heavy drinking can cause immediate inflammation superimposed with short duration palpitations which though might seem insignificant in nature cannot be called ‘safe’ by any means.

But why does alcohol affect my heart at all?

Now before you start judging us because you live like a monk whose veins run with water or/and juice 247/365 around the year let us clarify something first – A smart glass of wine could do a lot more good than harm💁 but BINGE drinking? Sorry dude things don’t work like that!

When consuming huge amounts of booze, most vital organs are forced into overdrive and required to function beyond normal capacity. However, two highly specialized glandular systems (the nervous & endocrine) located in our body consisting thousands of neurons become incredibly sensitive 🤯 as soon as they sense drunk levels rising above safety limits.

This whole ordeal throws entire balance off kilter between sympathetic Vs Parasympathetic sections giving rise or contributing factors such as:

  • Blood pressure spikes
  • Cardiac muscle inflammation/soreness
  • Intense arrhythmias caused via alterations within rhythm pattern *Booyah

In plain English – It technically kind-off screws up crucial messaging signals switching gears between “FIGHT OR FLIGHT” reflexes required during stressful situations or alternatively could dissolve into ‘CHILL’ mode.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these bullet points.

Blood pressure spikes & arrhythmias

In medical jargon, blood pressure or hypertension pertains to the amount of force applied against artery walls when pumping out blood to various areas within our bodies. Ethanol found in alcohol causes narrowing down on this pathway resulting in higher frequency heartbeats and subsequently increasing chances of accidently flailing right followed by losing self-restraint from your beds/clubs/chairs 😞.

To get real for just a second – it is also statistically proven that excessive drinking can cause multiple heart problems ** including high-blood pressures and even deadly cardiac arrest situations as well. So folks, be careful about what you’re putting through those lips!

But I’m still feeling fine… does this mean I’m immune?

Before you come down from the clouds read this – tolerance built up due to regular booze consumption unfairly paved via unconsciously ignoring symptoms clearly visible having far-reaching yet undisputed negative consequences like pimples/physical fitness/waistlines/age related degenerations/& many such associated risks. Except now we’re discussing HOW THIS THING AFFECTS YOUR HEART!

Is there any escaping truth anyway? Folks listen everything good comes with an expiry period carved somewhere hidden secretly (and if not try harder 😜😉) which sadly means same goes here too! There’s only so much an organism can adapt…but eventually we all pay for overindulgence especially since long-term exposure weakens muscles overtime causing scarring tissue inflammation irreversible damage leading onto one eventual outcome – inevitable disease called alcoholic cardiomyopathy!

So here’s real talk: Alcohol poses a potential risk factor towards contracting more serious extended cardiovascular outcomes than anybody would have generally thought possible– emphasis on “potential”.

Bottom line: Moderation is the key folks!

Let’s all raise a toast to keeping that heart ticking and singing worry-free!

We implore you folks, let’s not forget the significance of responsible drinking. Being tipsy can be one helluva ride we agree but it never hurts to remind ourselves about some simple yet effective methods like:

  • Ensuring there is always someone sober in case of emergency situations
  • Drinking lots of water between rounds just so you don’t end up feeling water deficient either
  • Keeping an eagle view on medicines taken because crossing recommended dosage threshold at the top of drinks spell disaster!

And above all? Trying our best to make moderation our middle name – CHEERS everyone** trust us when we say your future healthy self will thank you for this 😉👌.

Takeaway message

In summary, alcohol does have quite a damaging effect on basic functioning units including but not limited too important muscular organ – The Heart😞. But with small commonsense behavioral shifts involving less consumption via maintaining record checks/drinking & hydrating ratios/having education around medications& dosages interactions/when going hard opting towards occasional medical investigations like ECGs none less than every six months etcetera; complications could sometimes even be reversed if caught early in their lines.

Disclaimer: This article aims to entertain while inform readers only and should never take over professional advice given by doctors or similar experts

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