Alcohol and The Heart
Reprint requests: Professor Michael Y. Henein, MD, PhD, FESC, FACC, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, and Heart Centre, Umea University, Umea, Sweden; Tel.: +46907850000; Fax: +4690137633; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Alcohol consumption and disease or mortality display a J-shaped curve, with moderate amounts of alcohol being more protective than abstention, binge drinking, or heavy drinking. Red wine appears to be particularly protective for cardiovascular disease and associated conditions such as type 2 diabetes. There are, however, controversies concerning the effect of red wine on hypertension, in which there may be significant gender and ethnic differences. Overall, it seems that both ethanol and the polyphenols in red wine may contribute to the protective effect.
