Cardiovascular risks and benefits of moderate and heavy alcohol consumption

Abstract

The heart and vascular system are susceptible to the harmful effects of alcohol. Alcohol is an active toxin that undergoes widespread diffusion throughout the body, causing multiple synchronous and synergistic effects. Alcohol consumption decreases myocardial contractility and induces arrhythmias and dilated cardiomyopathy, resulting in progressive cardiovascular dysfunction and structural damage. Alcohol, whether at binge doses or a high cumulative lifetime consumption-both of which should be discouraged-is clearly deleterious for the cardiovascular system, increasing the incidence of total and cardiovascular mortality, coronary and peripheral artery disease, heart failure, stroke, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and diabetes mellitus. However, epidemiological, case-control studies and meta-analyses have shown a U-type bimodal relationship so that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption (particularly of wine or beer) is associated with a decrease in cardiovascular events and mortality, compared with abstention. Potential confounding influences-alcohol-dose quantification, tobacco use, diet, exercise, lifestyle, cancer risk, accidents, and dependence-can affect the results of studies of both low-dose and high-dose alcohol consumption. Mendelian methodological approaches have led to doubts regarding the beneficial cardiovascular effects of alcohol, and the overall balance of beneficial and detrimental effects should be considered when making individual and population-wide recommendations, as reductions in alcohol consumption should provide overall health benefits.

Natural Products for the Prevention and Treatment of Hangover and Alcohol Use Disorder

“…The health effects of drinking depend on the quantity and pattern of alcohol consumption. Although several studies have showed that light to modest alcohol consumption (especially wine or beer) is linked to a decrease in cardiovascular events and total mortality [1,2], some studies indicated that the relationship between alcohol consumption and several cardiovascular diseases is uncertain or negative even at moderate intakes [3][4][5]. Furthermore, excessive alcohol consumption adversely affects human health.…”

Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy: Old and New Insights

“…In addition, compared to men, women show a significantly steeper doserelated inverse relationship between LVEF and TLDE [18]. This means that at a given dose of ethanol consumption, contractile LV function in women will be significantly lower than in men [2,3].…”

“…One one hand, there is a pleasant tonic and healthy cardiovascular effect when consumed at occasional low doses in a social context, decreasing, for instance, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality [1]. On the other hand, alcohol is a toxic able to induce a variety of noxious cardiac and vascular effects when consumed in binges or at a high-cumulated lifetime consumption, increasing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality [2,3].…”

“…Chronic ACM is developed over a long period of time of usually more than 10 years and thus, usually starts between the third to fifth decades of [3,9]. Binge drinking is also an additional negative factor that may increase chronic alcoholmediated heart damage and/or induce acute exacerbations of ventricular dysfunction, malignant arrhythmias and potential cardiac arrest [2,3]. susceptibility factors or other additional noxious factors such as tobacco and cocaine use [10,11].…”

Metabolic Phenotyping of Diet and Dietary Intake

“…Wine is one the most widely consumed beverages of the world and several health benefits have been suggested to result from its moderate consumption (41). There are many varieties of wine according to their organoleptic characteristics such as aroma, flavour and colour to name a few and those characteristics are attributed to its geographical location, growing conditions and fermentation processes (42).…”