Drinking alcohol increases the risk of stroke

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, preventing brain tissue from receiving oxygen and nutrients. Brain cells begin to die within minutes.

Stroke is a medical emergency, so timely treatment is very important. Early and timely emergency treatment can reduce brain damage and complications. Every year, 15 million people in the world have a stroke. Of these, 5 million die and another 5 million are permanently disabled, creating a burden for families and the community. In Vietnam, every year, about 200,000 people have a stroke. In addition to unchangeable risk factors such as age and genetic factors, lifestyle plays a very important role in controlling this disease, especially controlling the amount of alcohol consumed daily.

The link between alcohol and stroke risk has also been mentioned in a number of epidemiological studies. Notably, the results show that drinking wine, beer or spirits all have the same harmful effects on increasing the risk of stroke. In fact, there is no standard for how much alcohol consumption is harmful because the risks and consequences of alcohol use vary depending on the age, gender and other biological characteristics of each person, as well as the circumstances and ways of drinking alcohol. Some high-risk groups or vulnerable individuals are even more susceptible to the toxicity, psychoactivity and addiction of alcohol. In other words, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. Scientific evidence shows that drinking even a small amount of alcohol can cause certain health risks and consequences. According to the World Health Organization, dysfunctions of the body appear even when drinking a very small amount of alcohol.

So, limit alcohol to the maximum, because there is no safe threshold. The rate of stroke in young men is also nearly 4 times higher than that of women. The cause of the younger age of stroke is assessed mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle, especially excessive alcohol consumption.

People who drank an average of more than two drinks a day had a 34% increased risk of stroke compared to those who drank none or less than half a drink a day. Heavy drinking or binge drinking, defined as more than five drinks a day, at least once a month, was associated with a 39% increased risk of stroke. People who regularly drank high amounts of alcohol were more likely to have a stroke after age 50. Furthermore, people who drank heavily in middle age were more likely to have a stroke five years earlier in life, regardless of genetic factors.