Drinking Champagne can cut risk of cardiac arrest

Irish Independent

29-04-2025

Experts suggested that thousands of cardiac arrests – where the heart suddenly stops beating – could be prevented by tackling health and lifestyle issues.
They found that a higher consumption of Champagne or white wine, more fruit, maintaining a positive mood, staying a healthy weight and keeping blood pressure under control seemed to protect against a cardiac arrest.
People who were more educated also seemed less prone to cardiac arrest, the study, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, suggested, while poor sleep patterns and a lack of exercise could be detrimental.
A cardiac arrest is an emergency medical situation that usually happens without warning.
People suddenly collapse and are unconscious, and are not breathing or not breathing normally. Without immediate treatment, people die.
UK figures suggest there are about 30,000 cardiac arrests a year outside of hospital where emergency medical services attempt to resuscitate a person who has collapsed and stopped breathing normally.
The latest study identified 56 risk factors associated with sudden cardiac arrest and found up to 63pc of cases might be avoidable.
'As expected, lifestyles account for the most burden,' the researchers said, adding: 'Public awareness campaigns should be further encouraged to promote lifestyle interventions.'
The study looked at 502,094 middle-to-older aged people included in the UK Biobank of data.
Of these, 3,147 people suffered sudden cardiac arrest during a typical follow-up period of 13.8 years.