How small doses of alcohol affect the heart
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Even moderate consumption of alcohol does not pass without a trace for the heart muscle, say scientists from the University of Siena (Italy). The usual glass of wine "before dinner" acts differently on the left and right ventricles of the heart, which leads to harmful effects for the whole organism.
During the experiment, 64 volunteers at the age of about twenty (35 men and 29 women) drank a certain amount (in the calculation of 5 milliliters per kilogram of weight) of red wine. In the control experiment, subjects drank fruit juice in the same volume. After that, for an hour they measured heart rhythms. It turned out that even a small dose of alcohol affects the work of a vital organ: the activity of the left ventricle suppressed alcohol, and the activity of the right, which controls the small, pulmonary circulatory system, increased. The left ventricle sends oxygenated blood to the body, the right drives the venous blood into the lungs, answering for gas exchange and heat transfer.
Thus, it can be concluded that even with moderate consumption of alcohol, the blood supply of the body as a whole worsens, while the load on the lungs increases. Whether this is fraught with any serious consequences in the long term, it remains to be seen. But even advocates of "healthy moderation" should remember about these not quite healthy physiological effects.
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