Heavy drinking has been linked to strokes over the years, a new study finds

A new study suggests that having a third drink can spell trouble for your brain.

Harvard researchers found that people who drink three or more drinks a day can suffer more than ten years earlier than people who drink less.

Research – published this week in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology – links heavy drinking not only to previous strokes, but also to the aging brain.

Brain Health Warning Sign May Be Hiding In Plain Sight, Researchers Say

The study analyzed data from 1,600 adults over the age of 75 who were hospitalized with intracerebral hemorrhage, a type of attack caused by bleeding inside the brain.

During the hospital stay, participants were asked about their drinking habits, whether they were direct family members or family members.

Of the 1,600 participants, about 7% were classified as heavy drinkers.

The investigators defined heavy drinking as three or more drinks every day, which included drinking 12 beers, 5 glasses of water or 1.5-ounces of alcohol.

Cutting back on alcohol and exercise can prevent the ‘silent killer,’ experts say

A brain scan revealed a hard ceiling and even if the patients show signs of cerebral small vessel disease, a condition that damages the small blood vessels in the brain and is linked to dementia and dementia.

Heavy drinkers experienced brain discharge at age 64, compared to 75-year-old drinkers, an 11-year gap. Their brain output was also 70% greater on average.

The investigators defined “Heavy drinking” as three or more drinks every day, where the drinking is 12 glasses of wine, 5 glasses of water or 1.5-ounce of alcohol. (Pet Pictures)

Heavy drinkers are also twice as likely to have blood deep in the brain and almost twice as likely to have diffuse bleeding in the spaces that fill the brain, a major explanation for what is called intraventrance, the study found.

In addition, they were three times as likely to have extensive white matter damage, which is linked to long-term cognitive decline and brain aging.

Click here to download the FOX News app

While alcohol has previously been tied to the risk of stroke, this study shows that it can accelerate the small vessel disease, making the brain more vulnerable to the recovery of the difficult Department and the slow Writer, according to the lead author Dr. M. Edip Gurlol of Harvard University.

“Reducing heavy alcohol consumption may not only reduce a person’s risk of stroke, but it can reduce the progression of small vessel disease, and it can also reduce small amounts of pollution,” Gurol said in a press release.

“Heavy drinking is associated with high blood pressure, which is a contributing factor to this type of stroke.”

Jennifer Tujaet, chief scientist at the International Alliance for Washington, IIRD) in Washington, DC, was not involved in the study but shared it with FOX News Digital.

Click here to sign up for our New Health Newsletter

“These results appear to be consistent with previous studies that have found an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke associated with heavy drinking levels,” she said.

“Heavy drinking is associated with high blood pressure, which is a contributing factor to this type of stroke.”

Heavy drinkers in the study experienced 70% greater brain output than those who drank less, the researchers found. (Stock)

There were other limitations to the study, the authors noted, including that it was a cross-sectional study design, meaning it looked at data from one point in time rather than following people over time.

Test yourself with our latest lifestyle quiz

As a result, researchers can’t say whether drinking caused the strokes or simply made them worse.

Click here for more health news

Alcohol use could also tell them, meaning people may be looked down upon or overestimated by how much they drink. Lifelong drinking habits are also not available.

FOX News Digital has reached out to the Dispilled Spills Council for comment.