Boozers who get a red face after they drink at an ‘increased risk’ of silent killer

BOOZERS who get a red face after they drink are at an increased risk of a silent killer illness, experts have warned.

Medics in California said that it’s down to a gene that impairs the body’s ability to metabolise alcohol.

GettyExperts have revealed that people who become flushed after drinking could be at risk of heart disease[/caption]

Around eight per cent of the population has the ALDH2*2  gene variant.

And those that have it could be at risk of heart disease due to the inflammation of the blood vessels, researchers said.

Heart disease is often referred to as a silent killer as many people aren’t aware they have it.

In the UK, there are around 2.3million people living with the condition, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) states.

In the US, around 20.1million adults have the condition, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) states.

Writing in the journal, Science Translational Medicine, the medics found that the risk of heart disease is four times higher in drinkers with ALDH2*2.

Hongchao Guo at Stanford University in California and his colleagues looked at data from biobanks in the UK and Japan.

They measured the ability of blood vessels to dilate using a device called EndoPAT in those with the gene.

In those with ALDH2 this measure increased after booze, but in those with ALDH2* it decreases.

“This may seem odd given that people with ALDH2*2 flush when they drink, but the flushing is caused by the release of histamines,” the team said.

Many people become flushed when they consume alcohol, and this is usually down to histamine being present in the beverage, Allergy UK states.

Histamines are present in lots of alcoholic drinks, particularly red wines and alongside flushing, can also cause nasal symptoms, gut symptoms or asthma.

Some people are sensitive to this due to a deficiency in the breakdown and elimination of histamine from the body.

You might also experience a reaction from yeast and if sulphites, sulphur dioxide or additives are added to the drinks.

The Stanford team also looked at the type of cells that line the blood vessels.

They found that ALDH2*2 cells had higher levels of free radicals and inflammation than normal endothelial cells.

This meant that they were also able to generate less nitric oxide, which can help relax blood vessels.

This variant of the gene also stops the growth of new blood vessels, the team said.

“That means that when there is a heart attack, when there is a need of blood vessel growth, carriers have less ability to generate new blood vessels,” they added.

In conclusion, the team said if you have this gene, the only way to lower your risk is to try not to drink.

“If you drink consistently, you are at much higher risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer,” they added

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