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Review
. 2023 Feb;9(2):266-279.
doi: 10.1016/j.jacep.2022.10.023.

Alcohol and Arrhythmias

Christopher X Wong  1 , Samuel J Tu  2 , Gregory M Marcus  3
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Alcohol and Arrhythmias

Christopher X Wong et al. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2023 Feb.
Free article

Abstract

The association between alcohol consumption and abnormalities of heart rate and rhythm has long been recognized. Significant attention has focused on the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) with excessive alcohol intake. Recent studies have advanced our understanding of these relationships and provided additional insights into potentially arrhythmogenic mechanisms. However, considerable uncertainty remains, such as the level of consumption at which harm begins and whether alcohol plays a role in other arrhythmias. This review characterizes the spectrum of conduction abnormalities and heart rhythm disorders in relation to alcohol consumption. In addition, it discusses the latest epidemiologic and experimental evidence, the potential importance of beverage type and constituent ingredients, and conflicting information on drink definitions, thresholds, and recommendations.

Keywords: alcohol; atrial fibrillation; bradyarrhythmias; conduction disease; sudden cardiac death; ventricular arrhythmias.

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Conflict of interest statement

Funding Support and Author Disclosures Dr Wong has received support from a Mid-Career Fellowship from the Hospital Research Foundation and a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Heart Foundation of Australia; and has reported that the University of Adelaide has received on his behalf lecture, travel, and/or research funding from Abbott Medical, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Medtronic, Novartis, Servier, St Jude Medical, and Vifor Pharma. Dr Tu has received support from a Postgraduate Scholarship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Dr Marcus has received support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (grant R01AA022222); has received research funding from Baylis Medical; has served as a consultant for Johnson & Johnson and InCarda; and has holding equity in InCarda.

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