14 DAY TRIAL // A new study carried out by a team of researchers at the University of Rome La Sapienza, in Italy, concluded that male heart bypass patients who drink low to moderate amounts of alcohol, on a daily basis, face lower risks of suffering from a heart attack or a stroke, or even needing additional heart procedures, compared to non-drinking patients.
A light to moderate daily alcohol consumption means drinking a maximum of 30 grams of alcohol, while moderate to heavy drinking means over 60 grams of alcohol a day.
1,021 patients who underwent heart bypass filled in a standard questionnaire, so that the researchers could compare their alcohol consumption.
The team also reviewed subsequent bypass procedures, strokes, heart attacks and cardiac deaths during the next three and a half years, and they concluded that patients consuming almost two drinks a day, had fewer cardiovascular events when compared to abstainers.
Male coronary artery bypass patients having two or three drinks daily (light to moderate alcohol consumption), proved to lower their rates of later cardiovascular procedures, strokes, heart attacks and death, by 25 percent, even compared to non-drinkers.
On the other hand, bypass patients with left ventricular dysfunction who drank more than six drinks a day (moderate to heavy drinkers), doubled their risks of having consequent cardiovascular deaths, compared to non-drinkers.
Umberto Benedetto, MD, PhD at the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy, said that “the benefit of light amounts of alcohol consumption has been documented in healthy individuals, but our analysis showed a benefit from light alcohol intake in post-coronary bypass patients.
“However, our analysis indicated that alcohol consumption is not advisable in patients with left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure.
“No adverse correlation was found between moderate alcohol consumption and any medication.”
Still, the results of this study need to be confirmed over a longer follow-up period and the research needs to include more patients and controls.
The American Heart Association warns that it does not recommend people to start drinking in order to prevent heart disease, because of the risk of high blood pressure and other side-effects that alcohol consumption can trigger.
As for people who are already drinking alcohol daily, the AHA recommends that women should limit themselves at one drink and men to two drinks a day.
The study was presented at the American Heart’s Association’s Scientific Sessions 2010.