Alcohol and Heart Health Resources and Helpful Links

Interested in the topic of drinking alcohol and heart health? You’ve come to the right place. Here you can read descriptions of scientific studies on the subject and find other resources.

Beer, wine and distilled spirits appear to have the same general health and longevity benefits. Spirits include rum, vodka, tequila, gin, whiskey, and similar drinks.

The benefits come basically from the alcohol itself. And standard drinks of beer, wine, and spirits have the same amount of pure alcohol. That is, six-tenths of one ounce each.

A standard drink is a

- 12 ounce can or bottle of beer.
- 5 ounce glass of dinner wine.
- Shot (1.5 ounce) of spirits.I.

I. Abstainers Who Begin to Drink Benefit

Middle-aged non-drinkers who began drinking in moderation experienced a 38% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease. That’s in comparison to those who continued abstaining.

This is very important. That’s because it shows that was drinking rather than other factors that improves health and longevity.

Learn more at Alcohol Abstainers Who Begin to Drink Reduce Their Risk of Cardiovascular Disease.

II. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Drinking beer and wine in moderation was associated with a much lower risk of developing a dangerous abdominal aortic aneurysm.

III. Aortic Valve Sclerosis

Aortic valve sclerosis (thickening) is a common health problem. About 1/3 of adults in the US have it. It increases the risk of death from cardiovascular causes by about 50%.

Researchers found that light to moderate drinking was linked with a lower risk of aortic valve sclerosis. Heavy drinking increased that risk.

Discover more at Risk of Aortic Valve Sclerosis Reduced by Drinking Alcohol.

IV. Cardiometabolic Risk

Cardiometabolic risk describes a person’s chances of damaging their heart and blood vessels. Risk factors include obesity, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. Multiple factors greatly increase the cardiovascular risk.

In a randomized clinical trial, researchers found that moderate drinking with dinner decreases cardiovascular disease risk.

Find more at Alcohol and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors.

V. Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death for both men and women.

Researchers systematic reviewed and meta-analyzed prospective cohort studies. They analyzed 59 studies that involved 5,358,902 women.

Not smoking was the single most important way to reduce the risk of CVD, CVD mortality, and all-cause mortality. Maintaining proper weight was also important in reducing those risks. Drinking alcohol in moderation greatly reduced risk as did being physically active.

Learn more at Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Disease & Mortality among Middle-Aged & Older Women.

VI. Cardiovascular Disease

Researchers studied nearly two million adults who were followed over time. Moderate drinkers had lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers, former drinkers, or heavy drinkers.

Explore more at Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease: Moderate Drinking is Protective.

VII. Cardiovascular Disease Patient Deaths

Researchers analyzed data on 16,351 cardiovascular disease patients found in eight prospective studies. That is, each patient was followed over time.

The risk of cardiovascular death dropped by 22% among those who had about two drinks daily. All-cause death also dropped greatly.

See more at Drinking Alcohol and Mortality in Cardiovascular Disease Patients.

VIII. Cardiovascular Health

Researchers reviewed the research. They found that light to moderate drinking is associated with a much lower risk of all-cause death. That’s in comparison with non-drinking or abstaining from alcohol.

They also found that it’s associated with much lower risks of coronary artery disease. In addition, it was much lower for type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and ischemic stroke.

Discover more at Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health (How Much to Drink for Good Health & Long Life.

IX. Cardiovascular Death

Researchers analyzed drinking and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. They did so from data in nine large representative samples of the U.S. population. Each followed individuals over time.

They found that light and moderate drinking greatly reduced the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Find more at Drinking Alcohol and Risk of Cardiovascular Death.

X. Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension

Researchers studied 10,530 hypertensive women. That is, women with high blood pressure.

They found that moderate drinking is associated with greatly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to lifetime abstainers.

Learn more at Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease among Women with Hypertension.

XI. Coronary Artery Disease (Heart Disease)

Acute Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack)

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. Another common name for coronary heart disease is heart disease.

The medical evidence shows that drinking alcohol in moderation leads to lower risk of coronary artery disease. That’s one of the reasons it generally leads to longer life.

XII. Diabetes

Investigators reviewed research on the effects of drinking alcohol on diabetes, cardiovascular health, and death They focused at type 2 or adult-onset diabetes.

They found that light and moderate drinking decreases the risk of developing diabetes. That’s according to most studies.

Among diabetics, light and moderate drinking reduces risk of other diseases and all-cause death. Of course, this is also the case in the general population.

Learn more at Drinking Alcohol, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Health, and Mortality.

XIII. Diabetes (Adult Onset or Type 2 Diabetes)

Describes and summarizes the research evidence about the impact of alcohol on adult onset diabetes.

The research shows that moderate drinking is beneficial for type 2 diabetes. And the evidence is overwhelming.

See more at Drinking Alcohol and Type 2 Diabetes (Adult Onset Diabetes)

XIV. Drinking Over Guidelines Beneficial

In this cross-over study, researchers studied postmenopausal women. Thus, half the women drank alcohol. Then they abstained while the other half drank.

During the periods when participants were drinking alcohol, blood factors associated with poor cardiovascular health dropped greatly.

These health benefits were obtained from drinking alcohol far in excess of official U.S. guidelines for women. That’s because those guidelines are based on political and cultural factors. Unfortunately, they’re not based on medical ones.

Learn more about the study at Cardiovascular Health Benefitted from Drinking Over Guidelines

XV. Exercise vs. Alcohol

Researchers studied about 12,000 people for 20 years. They found that moderate drinking and exercising are not interchangeable. Instead, they are cumulative in their positive effects on the cardiovascular system.

Doing one is better than nothing. But doing both is the best choice. This greatly reduces the risk of death from heart disease. And the same is also true for all-cause mortality

Exercise your right to visit Exercise vs. Alcohol for Heart Health (Which is Better?)

XVI. Hardening of the Arteries (Atherosclerosis)

Moderate drinking reduces the risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) in the general population. It’s the most common cause of cardiovascular disease. And also, cardiovascular diseases are the biggest cause of deaths around the world.

Researchers wanted to see if this also applies to HIV+ persons. They found that heavy drinking was not associated with risk of developing atherosclerosis in men or women. That’s in comparison with abstinent/low consumption.

Moderate drinking was associated with 54% lower risk for getting the disease in men. But it didn’t reduce it in women.

They concluded that such drinking was associated with a dramatic protective effect on developing atherosclerosis in HIV+ men.

Find more at Alcohol Drinking and Atherosclerosis among HIV+ Persons.

XVII. Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarctiion)

Researchers looked at 58,827 rural Norwegians for an average of 11.6 years. They measured the amount and frequency of drinking at both the start and end of the study.

Light and moderate drinking reduced heart attacks. A one drink increment in daily consumption reduced risk by 28%. This was after adjusting for major heart disease risk factors. As other studies report, requency was more important than quantity of drinking in reducing the risk of heart attack.

Discover more is at Alcohol and Heart Attacks: Drinking is Heart-Healthy.

XVIII. Heart Attacks and Strokes

Researchers studied data from 204,557 people for an average of 9.1 years. Moderate alcohol drinkers had lower risk of stroke, heart attack, and all-cause mortality. However, the risk of all-cause mortality was higher among heavy drinkers.

More about the research is at Effects of Alcohol on Risk of Strokes and Heart Attacks.

XIX. Heart Attack Survival

Research studies show that drinking alcohol improves heart attack survival. This is true of drinking both before and after a heart attack.

Learn more about the research at Heart Attack Survival Increased by Drinking Alcohol.

XX. Heart Failure

Researchers analyzed data from 14,629 people aged 45 to 64. They interviewed them periodically about their drinking for 24-25 years.

The lowest rate of heart failure was among those who had up to seven drinks per week. Next was those having seven to fourteen drinks per week. Finally, those who had over 14 drinks per week had a heart failure rate nearing that of the abstainers. However, no level of alcohol intake had a higher risk of heart failure than that of lifetime abstainers.

There’s more at Drinking Alcohol and Heart Failure Connected.

XXI. Heart Failure Risk among Men

Researchers studied 33,760 men age 45 to 79 at the beginning of the study. They then followed them for 14 years.

The researchers found that having seven to 14 drinks weekly gave the greatest protection. It led to a 19% lower heart failure risk. That’s compared to abstainers.

See more at Heart Failure Risk among Men.

XXII. How Alcohol Reduces Risk

Describes some of the many known ways in which moderate drinking reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack. In short, it explains the dynamics of alcohol and heart health.

Learn the specifics at How Alcohol Reduces Risk of Heart Attacks and other Cardiovascular Diseases.

More Resources on Alcohol and Heart Health

Video

Stroke: Understanding the Disease. NY: Films Media Group, 2015.