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How low doses of alcohol affect the heart
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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Even moderate alcohol consumption does not pass without a trace for the heart muscle, say scientists from the University of Siena (Italy). A regular glass of wine "before dinner" has different effects on the left and right ventricles of the heart, which leads to harmful consequences for the entire body.
During the experiment, 64 volunteers around twenty years of age (35 men and 29 women) drank a certain amount of red wine (5 milliliters per kilogram of weight). In the control experiment, the subjects drank fruit juice in the same volume. After that, their heart rhythms were measured for an hour. It turned out that even a small dose of alcohol affects the functioning of a vital organ: alcohol suppressed the activity of the left ventricle, and increased the activity of the right ventricle, which controls the small, pulmonary circulation. The left ventricle sends oxygen-rich blood around the body, the right ventricle drives venous blood to the lungs, responsible for gas exchange and heat transfer.
Thus, it can be concluded that even with moderate alcohol consumption, the blood supply to the body as a whole is impaired, while the load on the lungs increases. Whether this is fraught with any serious consequences in the long term remains to be seen. But even supporters of "healthy moderation" should be aware of these not entirely healthy physiological effects.
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