There are certain factors that are critically important to understanding and interpreting the data related to the health consequences of alcohol consumption.

This article reviews these effects of alcohol consumption on CV conditions, such as HTN, CHD, stroke, PAD, and alcoholic cardiomyopathy, as well as mechanisms that may mediate the positive and the adverse effects of alcohol.Īlcohol Consumption: Categories, Measurement, and Patterns Consequently, the effects of alcohol consumption can be a double-edged sword. Low-to-moderate daily alcohol consumption (i.e., <15 to 20 g/day, 1 to 2 standard drinks) is associated with a reduced risk of CV disease and mortality, whereas greater amounts of alcohol consumption and a binge pattern of drinking (see definition in “Alcohol Consumption: Categories, Measurement, and Patterns”) have been linked to an increased risk. In particular, these associations are strongly modulated by the dose and pattern of alcohol consumption. These include using direct biomarkers of alcohol to confirm self-report of alcohol consumption levels studying potential mediation of various genetic, socioeconomic, and racial and ethnic factors that may affect alcohol use and CV disease reviewing alcohol–medication interactions in cardiac patients and examining CV effects of alcohol use in young adults and in older adults.ĭata from numerous epidemiologic studies over the last two decades have revealed complex associations between alcohol use and cardiovascular (CV) conditions such as hypertension (HTN), coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and cardiomyopathy. The review concludes by suggesting several promising avenues for future research related to alcohol use and CV disease. Both the negative and positive effects of alcohol use on particular CV conditions are presented here. But any positive aspects of drinking must be weighed against serious physiological effects, including mitochondrial dysfunction and changes in circulation, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and programmed cell death, as well as anatomical damage to the CV system, especially the heart itself. Low-to-moderate alcohol use may mitigate certain mechanisms such as risk and hemostatic factors affecting atherosclerosis and inflammation, pathophysiologic processes integral to most CV disease. Although many behavioral, genetic, and biologic variants influence the interconnection between alcohol use and CV disease, dose and pattern of alcohol consumption seem to modulate this most. The associations between drinking and CV diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and cardiomyopathy have been studied extensively and are outlined in this review. Alcohol use has complex effects on cardiovascular (CV) health.

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