Stroke Risk Jumps in Hour After Drinking Alcohol

Risk of stroke more than doubles in the hour immediately after consuming alcohol, ABC News reported July 15.

The finding comes from a small study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Stroke risk was 2.3 percent higher in the hour after drinking as little as one alcoholic beverage, they found, though that risk subsequently decreased by 30 percent within 24 hours.

Stroke risk rose regardless of the type of alcohol consumed, researchers found.

The study relied primarily on interviews, which is subject to recall bias, the authors noted. “It’s … a small study,” said Elizabeth Mostofsky of Harvard School of Public Health. “It requires a larger clinical trial.”

The findings were published in the journal Stroke.