2020.01.01 13:09
Cutting out alcohol may reduce atrial fibrillation episodes
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-afib-alcohol/cutting-out-alcohol-may-reduce-atrial-fibrillation-episodes-idUSKBN1Z023G
2020.01.01 13:47
2020.01.04 02:14
Moderate alcohol consumption:
According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, moderate drinking is up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per day for men.
Binge Drinking:
Heavy Alcohol Use:
SAMHSA defines heavy alcohol use as binge drinking on 5 or more days in the past month.
*NIAAA:National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
2020.01.04 04:20
Doc, if you don't mind, I would like to add one more drinking level (or category).
No.4: Korean drinking;
The manner, methodology, and purpose of Koreanish drinking.
Basically, drinking is tough for them but their ego and pride always override their suffering.
A lot of bravados and heroic machoism...
Here, the goal is in macho spirit, not in truly enjoying the drinking.
So, they force the alcohol down their throat and then force their partner to do it likewise.
They will go "on and on" until one of them fell asleep or starts to throw up.
As they get up, none of them really have enjoyed the drinking session.
It always ends up as another display of stupid vanity and useless challenge for nothing.
Contrary to the Korean drinking, Americans drink silently under control without any bravado.
They are extremely careful not to be recognized as alcoholics even though they enjoy it immensely.
2020.01.04 05:43
Thank you, WM.
The definition is very clear and unique,
although it sounds like insanity and an suicide attempt
to a medicine man like me and you.
2020.01.10 16:48
This is a very important and difficult topic, especially Koreans , whose drinking habbits so well described by both of you.
Here in Seoul, recently we lost a retired senior SNU professor from AF related CVA after a long struggle and currently one of my close friends in ICU of SNU 연건 campus for cerebral homorrhage--warfarin for AF---.
For clinicians, it is very difficult to decide when to intervene electrophsiologically or surgically for many
A Fib patients, some paroxismal & eventually permanent,-- many of whom relatively asymptomatic most of time,esp.with some medications.
Reported actual success rate of those ablation procedures, catheter based or surgical, could be all over the chart.
This article illustrates clearly the contribution of the alcohol intake to the recurrence or occurrence
of atrial fibrillation. Throughout my medical career I believed the significant role of alcohol intake
in the occurrence of atrial arrhythmias including AF and atrial flutter.
One prime example is so-called "Holiday Heart" among college students, which is
a nickname for paroxysmal AF developing after a binge beer drinking over the weekend.
Why some develop AF and most don't after the binge drinking?
Obviously some are more genetically prone to develop AF after exposure to alcohol.
It is indeed cardiologist's job to figure out in each patient with cardiac arrhythmia
whether or not alcohol is contributing to the arrhythmias.
Whenever I used to deal with patients with AF, I used to tell them to refrain from alcohol completely
for 6 months to determine the role of alcohol. Of course, most of them would not do it
at their own risk.
So many so called social drinkers suffer from AF without realizing what they are doing to
themselves.