A leading cause of death worldwide, heart attack risk may be mitigated via lifestyle and dietary choices. Darryl P. Leong, from the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University (Canada), and colleagues analyzed data collected on study subjects residing in 52 countries, including 12,195 cases of first myocardial infarction (MI) and 15,583 matched controls. The researchers surveyed alcohol use via questionnaire. Compared to not drinking at all, current alcohol use was linked to a 13% lower risk of heart attack, on average, in almost all regions, with the exception of certain South Asian countries. Having six or more drinks in the past 24 hours was associated with a 40% increased risk of heart attack, especially for people over age 65. Observing that: “low levels of alcohol use are associated with a moderate reduction in the risk of [heart attack],” the study authors submit that: “ the strength of this association may not be uniform across different countries.”
Toast to Good Health
A large-scale study covering 52 countries around the world reaffirms that modest alcohol consumption may lower a personu2019s risk of heart attack.
Leong DP, Smyth A, Teo KK, McKee M, Rangarajan S, Pais P, Liu L, Anand SS, Yusuf S; on behalf of the INTERHEART investigators. “Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Myocardial Infarction Risk: Observations from 52 Countries in the INTERHEART Case-Control Study.” Circulation. 2014 Jun 13.
RELATED ARTICLES