A substantial reduction in alcohol consumption by individuals who are regular drinkers and have symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) reduces the recurrence of AF and the proportion of time spent in AF, according to a study conducted in six hospitals in Australia. The study included 140 patients with AF and an average intake of approximately 17 drinks per week at baseline. Patients randomly assigned to the abstinence group reduced their alcohol intake from 16.8 to 2.1 drinks per week, whereas patients in the control group reduced their alcohol intake from 16.4 to 13.2 drinks per week. After a 2-week blanking period, the abstinence group had a lower risk of AF recurrence during the 6 months of follow-up (53% versus 73%) and lower AF burden than the control group (median percentage of time in AF 0.5% versus 1.2%). These findings add to the body of evidence demonstrating that excessive consumption of alcohol is associated with incident AF and adverse atrial remodelling.