Research suggests that having a party in your twenties increases your risk of heart problems later in life.
- Study of more than a million people warned of the dangers of hard parties
- Young adults up to nine times more likely to develop premature heart disease
- The greater the number of substances used recreation, the greater the risk
The lifestyle, live fast, the young lifestyle has taken a tragic toll on stars, including Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe.
They died in their twenties and thirties after drug and alcohol abuse.
Now, a large study among more than a million people has once again fired a warning shot at the dangers of hard parties.
It shows that young adults are up to nine times more likely to have premature heart disease if they regularly take drugs, smoke and drink.
A large study among more than a million people fired another warning shot about the dangers of hard parties. Photo: Stock
Experts examined 1.1 million people in the US and compared their intake of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes with the number of heart attacks and strokes.
They found that the greater the amount of substances used recreationally, the greater the risk of premature heart disease.
The link was even more pronounced among women. A total of 143,319 people had the disease – when a heart attack, angina or stroke occurs before the age of 55 in men or 65 in women.
For those who regularly used four or more substances, the risk was nine times higher. The study found that cocaine users were nearly two and a half times more likely to have premature heart disease, while amphetamine users were nearly three times more likely.
The ‘vibrant fast-paced, dying young’ lifestyle has attracted stars, including Amy Winehouse (pictured), Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe.
The figure for cannabis and other drugs was more than two and a half times. Smokers have almost twice the chance of suffering from premature heart disease, while the figure for drinkers was 50 percent.
Lead author Dr. Anthony Wayne Orr, of Louisiana State University in the USA, said: ‘We are only young once, and we must do everything in our power to maintain the state for as long as we can.
‘Studies indicate that one in five young adults abuses several substances and that the use of multiple substances often begins to be used at younger ages and therefore has poorer health in the long run.
“These people need to be aware of the long-term consequences for their health beyond the risk of an overdose.”
Heart disease affects 7.6 million people in the UK and causes more than one in four deaths.
Singer Miss Winehouse died at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning.
American guitar legend Hendrix, also 27, died after a drug bombing in 1970, while American actress Miss Monroe (36) was killed in 1962 by an excessive overdose.
The research was published in the journal Heart.