For Even Healthy Men, Alcohol Seems to Lower Heart Attack Risk

Moderate drinking appears to be beneficial, but doctors are cautious

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter

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FRIDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Suppose you're a healthy, physically fit, nonsmoking male. Your risk of heart attack is already low. Would having a drink or two of alcohol a day provide any additional protective benefit?

A study by Harvard University researchers suggests that the answer is yes. Even among men who are models of health, moderate drinking was associated with a lower risk of heart attack. Those who had one-half to two drinks a day had the lowest heart attack risk -- 40 percent to 60 percent lower than healthy men who didn't drink. And that was true no matter whether they were drinking beer, wine or liquor.

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"These results tend to refute the oft-quoted hypothesis that lower coronary heart disease seen among moderate drinkers is due to their associated healthy lifestyle habits, and not to their alcohol consumption," wrote Dr. R. Curtis Ellison, director of the Institute on Lifestyle and Health at Boston University School of Medicine, and co-author of a critique of the study.

In 2008, an estimated 770,000 people will suffer a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

Dozens of studies have linked moderate drinking and lower risk of heart disease. In a nod to that evidence, the AHA advises people who drink to do so in moderation -- no more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.

What's been less clear is whether people who exercise, abstain from smoking, maintain an optimal weight and adhere to an appropriate diet would see any benefit from drinking.

Using data from more than 50,000 health professionals, study author Dr. Kenneth J. Mukamal, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues identified more than 8,800 men who were nonsmokers, ate a healthy diet, exercised at least 30 minutes a day and weren't overweight. Over a 16-year period, 106 of the men had heart attacks, but those who had two drinks a day had the lowest risk for heart attack, while non-drinkers had the highest risk.

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