LHM Youth Lifestyle Information – Alcohol

You may notice friends starting to drink alcohol, firstly it is important to remember that the legal drinking age for the UK is 18. As an LHM youth member you are not yet 18 so legally it is best to avoid alcohol.
We know that not all young people follow this rule, and it can be hard to avoid the peer pressure from friends if they are all meeting up and drinking alcohol but there are some really important things you need to know about drinking alcohol when you have half a working heart.
Drinking large amounts of alcohol comes with health risks for everyone whether they have half a working heart or no health conditions at all. If you drink a lot of alcohol over a long period of time you can increase the likelihood of liver disease, high blood pressure, increased risks of cancer and heart attacks to name a few.


These risks can stay hidden for a long time in heart healthy people. But as a young person with half a working heart the risk is even higher and can start a lot sooner. Drinking a lot of alcohol can make your heart rate speed up rapidly and affect how well your heart is working. It can affect how well your liver works and this will then make a difference to how well your body absorbs your heart medications. Possibly stopping them from working correctly which we want to avoid.
If you are a young person on warfarin or aspirin (as most young people with half a working heart are) your blood is already being made thinner with this medication. Alcohol thins the blood even more, increasing the risk of bleeding.
I know this sounds a little bit scary, it just means that when you turn 18 and want to start drinking alcohol you need to think about doing it in the safest way possible. For now, if you see your friend’s drinking alcohol and they ask you if you want some just tell them that it is dangerous for you with your heart condition.