Evidence already exists to show that consuming too much alcohol boosts your risk of developing an irregular heartbeat.

And now scientists have found two glasses of wine a day is enough to damage the electrical signals which control the organ’s rhythm.

Researchers have now released images showing the difference between the hearts of non-drinkers and those who consume ‘moderate’ amounts.

The amount of booze someone drinks is an ‘important risk factor’ for atrial fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat, the Australian experts say.

The condition raises the risk of having a stroke or heart failure, meaning drinking habits could signpost future heart problems.

The scans, produced by scientists at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, show how well electricity travels through the atrium – where blood enters the heart.

All of the 75 volunteers who had scans taken were known to have atrial fibrillation. They were split into three categories, depending on how much they drunk. 

Electrical signals are vital to the function of the heart because, controlled by nodes linked to the nervous system, they tell it when to contract and relax.

A healthy heart needs the signals to flow freely and regularly through undamaged tissue.

Hearts which are scarred, from drinking and other unhealthy habits, are less able to conduct the signal and therefore more likely to be out of time.

The scans show a non-drinker’s heart as entirely pink, which represents healthy tissue through which full-strength electric signals can flow.

Whereas the heart of what the scientists called a ‘moderate drinker’ has large patches of scarring shown in green, where electrical signals are weaker.

Their idea of moderate drinkers in the study were the people who had between eight and 21 alcoholic drinks per week – 14 on average.

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