Booze in moderation good for heart, says study

According to a new study, alcohol can do more good than harm for your heart when consumed in moderation.

Norwegian University of Science and Technology researchers have found that it is primarily the alcohol that leads to more good cholesterol, among other things. But alcohol can also cause higher blood pressure. So, it's best to drink moderate amounts relatively often.

Imre Janszky, a professor of social medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), said the relationship between alcohol and heart health has been studied in many countries, including the USA and southern European nations. The conclusions have been the same, but the drinking patterns in these countries are very different than in Norway. In countries like France and Italy, very few people don't drink.

The studies showed that those who drank three to five drinks per week were 33 per cent less prone to heart failure than those who abstained or drank infrequently. In the case of heart attacks, the risk appears to be reduced by 28 percent with each additional one-drink increment.

The study found that the risk of dying from various types of cardiovascular disease increased with about five drinks a week and up, while those who drank more moderate amounts had the lowest risk. High alcohol consumption was also strongly associated with an increased risk of death from liver disease.

The study is published in the journal of International Journal of Cardiology.