Heart Beat: Binge drinking and stroke
Heart Beat
One sign of a great mind, said Roman philosopher and poet Seneca, is to prefer things in measure to things in excess. His observation certainly applies to drinking alcohol. Moderate drinking — which translates into one to two drinks a day for men, no more than one a day for women — offers some protection against heart disease and stroke. Excessive drinking (the amount of which differs from person to person) can raise blood pressure, throw off heart rhythms, and damage heart muscle.
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