Acute Binge Alcohol Consumption Decreases the Subendocardial Viability Ratio

Our group has recently reported how acute binge alcohol consumption increases heart rate (HR) and aortic pulsatile load (HR x aortic pulse pressure) in the evening following simulated drinking and the subsequent morning after. However, the influence of acute binge alcohol on the subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR), an estimate of myocardial oxygen supply and demand, has not been reported. We hypothesized that acute binge alcohol consumption would decrease the SEVR within 30 minutes after consumption and the morning after. Participants (n=22; 50% females; age 25±1 years; BMI 27±1 kg/m 2 ) arrived for baseline blood pressure and arterial tonometry measures at 4 pm just prior to a standardized meal. Participants were enrolled into a binge alcohol or fluid control protocol in a randomized order, with one month between visits and received the opposite condition upon laboratory return. Alcohol or fluid control doses were administered in two equal allocates at 8 and 9 pm, and participants were provided 15 min to consume during each allocate period. The blood pressure and arterial tonometry measures were repeated 30 minutes after completion of each fluid consumption, and within 15 minutes of waking the morning after fluid control or binge alcohol consumption within the polysomnographic sleep laboratory. The binge alcohol protocol consisted of a 1:3 mixture of 190 proof grain ethanol and fruit juice (i.e., orange or cranberry juice) based on body weight and sex (1g/kg men, 0.85g/kg women), while the fluid control was only fruit juice in equal volume. Reported data are mean ± standard error, and means were considered significantly different when p< 0.05. The SEVR was significantly reduced from baseline (185±8%) after the first (163±7%; p< 0.001) and second (157±8%; p< 0.001) dose of the alcohol, but unchanged after the first (p=0.890) or second dose (p=0.789) of the fluid control. In the second part of our study, SEVR was significantly lower the morning after binge alcohol than the morning after fluid control (169±7 vs. 185±7%; p=0.009). Binge alcohol consumption decreased SEVR both acutely and the morning-after drinking. These findings highlight how binge alcohol may reduce myocardial perfusion and contribute to ischemic heart disease and cardiovascular risk. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.