Binge drinking and mortality after acute myocardial infarction

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health
• Alcohol Research

Background:

• Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with reduced mortality risk following myocardial infarction (MI).
• The impact of binge drinking on prognosis after MI remains unclear, despite some studies linking it to increased MI risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between binge drinking and mortality risk in patients who have survived a myocardial infarction.
• To determine if binge drinking affects long-term outcomes differently than usual alcohol intake patterns.

Main Methods:

• A prospective inception cohort study included 1935 patients hospitalized with confirmed MI.
• Patients were interviewed about their frequency of binge drinking (≥3 drinks in 1-2 hours) and followed for mortality over a median of 3.8 years.
• Hazard ratios were calculated, comparing binge drinkers to non-binge drinkers, with propensity score matching used for further analysis.

Main Results:

• Among 1919 eligible patients, 250 reported binge drinking, and 318 died during follow-up.
• Binge drinkers exhibited a 2-fold higher risk of mortality compared to non-binge drinkers (HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3-3.0).
• This increased risk was consistent across different usual alcohol intake levels and types of alcohol consumed, and it attenuated the protective effect of usual moderate alcohol intake.

Conclusions:

• Alcohol consumption poses potential hazards for patients surviving acute myocardial infarction.
• Binge drinking, irrespective of overall intake level, is associated with a significantly higher mortality risk post-MI.
• These findings highlight the importance of considering drinking patterns, not just quantity, in cardiovascular health.