Health Watch: Lessons of the Heart

Tis' the season to be jolly, but too much of a good thing might not be so good for you. 

Judy Fortin has details in Health Watch.

It's the holiday season and time for celebrating with the bubbly.

But how much alcohol is too much when it comes to your health?

A new study published in  the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at thousands of healthy, middle-aged women and their drinking habits.

Researchers found those who had up to two alcoholic drinks per day did not seem to increase their risk of an irregular heart beat.

But those who drank more demonstrated a slightly increased risk.

Although studies have been done before on the affects of alcohol on heart beats, most were small and involved men.

This is the first study to look at a large population of women.

And it seems that cutting off and then quickly restoring blood flow to the heart's arteries can actually lessen the damage caused by a major heart attack.
  
A study in the Journal of Cardiovascular Research found briefly cutting off blood flow to coronary arteries, much like what happens when people have mini heart attacks, actually limits the damage that can occur after restoration of blood flow following a heart attack, and cuts down on inflammation that can lead to heart failure.

Scientists are hoping this new discovery can help with the development of new drugs that would  protect those at high risk of heartattacks and strokes.

For Health Watch, I'm Judy Fortin.