A study of a German drinking festival has reported a link between alcohol consumption and cardiac arrhythmia.
The research studied beer drinkers at the Munich Octoberfest. Published in the European Heart Journal today (26 April), it was carried out by Professor Stefan Brunner of the University Hospital Munich, Germany, and colleagues.
They investigated, for the first time, the link between ‘acute’ alcohol consumption and cardiac arrhythmias in a large number of people. Using participants in the Munich Octoberfest, they could directly witness the drinking rates rather than relying on memory.
At the 2015 Munich Octoberfest, 3,028 participants were signed up and given electrocardiogram recordings using a portable, smart phone-based device. They were also given a breathalyser to test for alcohol.
Cardiac arrhythmias were found in 31% of the participants. Just over a quarter of these arrhythmias were the type in which the heart speeds up, called sinus tachycardia.
Alcohol concentrations in the breath were linked to a raised risk of cardiac arrhythmias – rising by 75% for each one gram of alcohol per kilogram of blood above zero.
"The starting point for our study were the inconclusive reports on the ‘Holiday heart syndrome’", said Professor Brunner. "This syndrome is defined by atrial fibrillation triggered by acute alcohol consumption.
"We found very strong and robust associations with both sinus tachycardia and with disturbances in the naturally occurring variation in heart rate during the breathing cycle, known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia."
This condition indicates an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, he added.
"Our research is continuing and several follow-up studies are under way," Dr Brunner concluded. "In particular, we plan to better quantify the autonomic imbalance induced by acute alcohol consumption, and to perform long-term electrocardiogram recording to see if atrial fibrillation or other sustained arrhythmias occur after acute alcohol consumption."
Brunner, S. et al. Alcohol consumption, sinus tachycardia, and cardiac arrhythmias at the Munich Octoberfest: results from the Munich Beer Related Electrocardiogram Workup Study. European Heart Journal 26 April 2017; doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx156
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