A new study shows that consuming three or more cocktails a day significantly increases one’s chances of suffering a stroke. In fact, the study revealed that people in their fifties and sixties are 34 percent more likely to have a stroke if they consume several alcoholic beverages each day.
The study, which was carried out by the American Heart Association and published in the journal Stroke, focused on 11,000 sets of Swedish twins over a 43-year period. The lengthy study revealed that consuming just two alcoholic drinks each day increased the chances that someone in their fifties or sixties would suffer a stroke by more than one-third. Those participating in the study regularly answered questions about their health; all participants were under 60 years of age when they started the study and just under one in three went on to suffer a stroke.
Dr. Shazam Hussain, who works in the Cleveland Clinic’s stroke program, says he’s not surprised by the study’s results. “We are seeing more and more people who are having strokes at younger ages and we don’t necessarily appreciate how much alcohol use may be contributing to that,” Shazam said. “We know that the more you drink, the worse off you’re going to be. Whether no alcohol versus a little bit of alcohol is any different, that’s tough to say.”
Dr. Demetrius Lopes, a neurosurgeon at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, called the study “extremely interesting” because researchers “were able to follow these people for a long period of time.”
“This study points to the importance of the upper limit of alcohol,” Lopes said. “It is a misconception that if a glass of red wine is good, more is even better. That’s a fine balance.”