Jojy Cheriyan MD,MPH January 29,2015

Both, alcohol and smoking are major risk factors for Stroke . Abundant evidence exists in the medical literature to support this fact, but a large study published today (January 29,2015) in the Journal of Stroke adds some new findings that connect the degree of risk to the age of alcoholics.

Though hypertension (high blood pressure) is the leading cause of Stroke, this study rates alcoholism also as a high-risk factor similar to diabetes and hypertension.

People who consume more than 2 drinks a day have a 34 percent higher risk of Stroke compared to those whose daily amounts are less than half a drink, the study finds. Researchers also found that people who drink heavily in their 50s and 60s tend to suffer Strokes earlier in life than light drinkers or non-drinkers.

Drinking more than 2 drinks per day can shorten the time to Stroke by about 5 years. This is equivalent to the risk posed by diabetes and hypertension, irrespective of genetic or lifestyle factors.

The study involved 11,644 middle-aged Swedish twins who were followed up for 43 years, using the Swedish registry of same-sex twins who answered the questionnaires between 1967 and 1970. In 2010 all these subjects were re-surveyed in addition to using hospital records and cause- of -death data. Almost 30 percent of  participants had a stroke  who were categorized as light-drinkers, moderate-drinkers, heavy-drinkers and non-drinkers.

The results of the study show that the more you drink the more risk you have for bleeding in the brain. It is also known that alcohol can lead to thinning of blood and induce high blood pressure which in turn can lead to hemorrhagic stroke. Studies have also shown that alcohol can lead to rhythm changes in heart (atrial fibrillation) which can lead to ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke.

Even though there is no safe limit for alcohol, clinicians should advise heavy drinkers to cut down the consumption to less than a drink per day, and pregnant women be advised to fully avoid alcohol.