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Heavy drinking is tied to earlier and more severe brain bleeds, a new study found. The paper, published Wednesday in the journal Neurology, examined the link between alcohol and intracerebral hemorrhages

the deadliest, most disabling type of stroke.

The researchers found that so-called heavy drinkers

people who had three or more drinks per day

developed a stroke on average 11 years earlier than those who had fewer than three drinks per day.They also had larger brain bleeds that were more difficult to manage.

This data cannot prove that alcohol led to earlier, more severe brain bleeds. But it aligns with a wide body of research linking heavy alcohol use to damaged blood vessels and cardiovascular disease.

About 85 percent of strokes are caused by blockages in the brain

usually from blood clots

and research has largely focused on the relationship between alcohol and these types of strokes, called ischemic strokes. Intracerebral hemorrhages, on the other hand, are caused by a blood vessel bursting and bleeding into the brain.