Alcohol linked to heartbeat irregularities

However, following the study of people with raised blood pressure, she added: “We do not know how ten drinks a week will affect healthy people.”

Prof Peter Weissberg, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation said both alcohol and hypertension increase the risk of atrial fibrillation independently of each other.

He added that some people seem to process alcohol differently and may make them more susceptible to the harmful effects of alcohol on the heart.

“Our advice would not advocate that people should be drinking to protect themselves against heart disease,” he said.

In another study on Italians, four cups of espresso coffee per day increased the risk of atrial fibrillation.

Prof Anna Mattioli of the University of Modena said people who drank a lot of coffee were more likely to smoke and be sedentary than those who drank less coffee.

She added that the groups studied ate a Mediterranean diet, which is high in antioxidants, which are vitamins that are good for the heart.

Dr Mattioli said her study showed that people who drank a lot of coffee consumed most of their antioxidants from the drink and relatively less from fruit and vegetables.

The overall calorie intake was similar in both groups.

The studies were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona.