If you have high blood pressure, binge drinking may severely increase your risk of dying from a stroke or heart disease, according to a South Korean study Compared to non-drinkers with normal blood pressure, researchers found that the risk of cardiovascular death in men with blood pressure of at least 168 /100 millimeters of mercury was: three times higher overall, four times higher if they were binge drinkers, consuming six or more drinks on one occasion, and twelve times higher if they were heavy binge drinkers, consuming 12 or more drinks on one occasion.
The study followed more than 6,100 residents, 55 years and older, of an agricultural community in South Korea for almost 21 years. Overall, about 15 percent of men said they were moderate binge drinkers and about 3 percent said they were heavy binge drinkers. However, because less than one percent of the women were reportedly binge drinkers, no conclusions could be made about the combined impact of high blood pressure and binge drinking in women, said Heechoul Ohrr, senior author of the study and professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea.
The study has been reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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