A latest research that appeared in the American Heart Association's journal 'Circulation -- Cardiovascular Imaging' suggested that consumption of two or more drinks every day may prove harmful for the heart of elderly people.

In the case of men, intake of over 14 alcoholic beverages every week is linked with the enlargement of the wall of the heart's main pumping chamber.

Scott Solomon, professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, said it seems like women are more susceptible as compared to men to the cardiotoxic effects of alcohol, which might have the potential to contribute to a higher risk of cardiomyopathy in the case of any given level of alcohol intake.

In the case of cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle becomes larger, thicker, and more rigid or is replaced by scar tissue.

Dr. Alexandra Goncalves, lead researcher, a postdoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, said, "In an elderly population, increasing alcohol intake is associated with subtle alterations in heart structure and function, with women appearing more susceptible than men to the toxic effects of alcohol".

In the study, the researchers correlated the weekly alcohol intake among 4,466 people, with an average age of 76, to the size, structure and motion of different parts of the heart.

They found that the more people drank the greater were the subtle changes to the heart's structure and function. Generally, moderate drinking is defined as two drinks of beer, wine or liquor per day for men and one drink per day for women.

Alexandra Goncalves added that in spite of the potential benefits of low alcohol intake, their findings have highlighted the possible hazards to cardiac function due to increased amounts of alcohol consumption in the elderly, mainly among women. She added that this has reinforced recommendations that those who drink should not overindulge.