Careful with the booze! Teens who drink alcohol prone to heart disease
Starting to drink from a young age can put teenagers on a fast track to heart failure, a study warns.
Drinking too much alcohol accelerates ageing of the blood vessels – a precursor to heart disease, according to the findings.
Arteries naturally become stiffer, but certain behaviours such as boozing speed up the process.
See the latest Covid vaccine stats below and visit InYourArea for all the Covid vaccine latest
Study author Hugo Walford, of University College London, said: "The more you drink, the greater the increase in arterial stiffness.
"The relationship was not explained by other predisposing factors for heart disease, suggesting that risky behaviour at a young age has a direct effect on vascular health."
Researchers measured alcohol consumption among 1,655 people at the ages of 17 and 24.
They found those who drank more had stiffer arteries.