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Alcohol consumption and heart failure in hypertensive US male physicians

Luc Djoussé1, J Michael Gaziano

  • 1Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ldjousse@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

The American Journal of Cardiology
|August 30, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Light to moderate alcohol consumption may lower heart failure risk in hypertensive men. Even higher intake showed a significant reduction in heart failure incidence.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Heavy alcohol consumption is linked to increased blood pressure and alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
  • The relationship between light to moderate alcohol intake and heart failure (HF) risk in hypertensive individuals is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between light to moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of incident heart failure (HF) among hypertensive male physicians.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study of 5,153 hypertensive male physicians, free of major cardiovascular or cancer events at baseline.
  • Alcohol consumption was self-reported and categorized into four groups: <1, 1-4, 5-7, and >=8 drinks/week.
  • Heart failure (HF) cases were identified through follow-up questionnaires and validated using Framingham criteria.

Main Results:

  • A total of 478 incident heart failure (HF) cases were recorded during the follow-up period.
  • Compared to non-drinkers (<1 drink/week), hazard ratios for HF decreased with increasing alcohol consumption: 0.72 (1-4 drinks/week), 0.72 (5-7 drinks/week), and 0.38 (>=8 drinks/week).
  • A significant trend (p < 0.001) indicated a lower risk of HF with higher levels of alcohol consumption, even after adjusting for multiple confounding factors.

Conclusions:

  • Light to moderate alcohol consumption appears to be associated with a reduced risk of heart failure (HF) in hypertensive men.
  • These findings suggest a potential protective effect of certain levels of alcohol intake on HF development in this specific population.
  • Further research may be warranted to confirm these associations and explore underlying mechanisms.

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