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Women Should Drink Wine for Healthy Heart, Another
Study Says
 Feb.
15, 2005 -
Drinking wine, but not beer or spirits, keeps women's hearts
beating healthily finds new research of women, including seniors up to
75, in
Heart. It is another of several recent studies pointing to wine
having significant benefits for women.
Much of the research on the potential health
benefits of alcohol has been done on men, and it is still not clear
exactly why moderate amounts of wine seems to be good for heart health.
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The purpose of this study was to test the
hypothesis that alcohol consumption is positively related to heart rate
variability (HRV) in coronary heart disease (CHD) and therefore that
cardiac autonomic activity is potentially implicated in mediating the
favorable effects of moderate drinking.
Heart rate variability (HRV), the amount of
fluctuation of the beat-to-beat differences, is known to be a reliable,
noninvasive marker of autonomic nervous system activity, according to
this Swedish research team. Decreased variability has been associated
with an increased risk of heart disease and death.
In this study of women with CHD we found that wine
intake was associated with increased HRV independently of the potential
confounding factors and of the intake of other beverages. In contrast,
consumption of beer and spirits or the total amount of alcohol consumed
did not relate significantly to any of the HRV parameters, the authors
say.
They studied 102 women under the age of 75, all
survivors of a heart attack or heart surgery for blocked arteries. All
participants were asked to record their alcohol intake for one week
after a year. And after at least a year, a heart tracing (ECG) was taken
over 24 hours during routine activities in all the participants, to test
heart rate variability or HRV.
HRV was highest in women who drank 5 or more grams
of alcohol a day, equivalent to more than half a standard unit, and
lowest in those who drank no alcohol at all.
But further analysis showed that the type of
alcohol consumed was important.
HRV was highest among women who drank wine, even
after taking account of other influential factors, such as age, weight,
and smoking habit. Beer and spirits had little impact on HRV.
The favorable effects on HRV may be one of the
reasons why wine protects heart health, suggest the authors.
About the Study
Compelling epidemiological evidence suggests that
moderate intake of alcoholic beverages, especially wine, is associated
with lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and
mortality, say authors.
Furthermore, moderate alcohol intake is related to
reduced mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Mechanisms of
this favourable effect of alcoholic beverages are not entirely clear;
however, they may include increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol
concentrations, improved coagulation profile, lower levels of
inflammation, greater insulin sensitivity, better endothelial function,
reduced endothelin 1 synthesis, low density lipoprotein oxidation, and
smooth muscle proliferation.
Heart rate variability (HRV), the amount of
fluctuation of the beat-to-beat differences, is known to be a reliable,
noninvasive marker of autonomic nervous system activity, they say.
Decrease in HRV has been found to predict CHD
morbidity and mortality in apparently healthy populations and in
patients after an acute coronary event.
Relatively few studies have examined the
associations between drinking habits and HRV parameters, and the results
are conflicting.
The purpose of this study was to test the
hypothesis that alcohol consumption is positively related to HRV in CHD
and therefore that cardiac autonomic activity is potentially implicated
in mediating the favorable effects of moderate drinking.
We assessed total alcohol consumption, consumption
of different types of alcoholic beverages, and time and frequency domain
parameters of HRV by using ambulatory ECG monitoring in women with CHD.
What the authors say:
In this study of women with CHD we found that wine
intake was associated with increased HRV independently of the potential
confounding factors and of the intake of other beverages. In contrast,
consumption of beer and spirits or the total amount of alcohol consumed
did not relate significantly to any of the HRV parameters.
Convincing evidence suggests that alcohol
consumption at moderate levels decreases CHD morbidity and mortality.
Moreover, recent studies found lower mortality
after myocardial infarction among patients with moderate alcohol intake.
Why moderate alcohol intake is associated inversely with CHD is
not completely clear.
A positive effect of alcohol on lipid profile is
consistently reported. For instance, Langer and colleagues
claimed that about half of the observed protection against CHD
afforded by moderate alcohol consumption is mediated by an increase in
high density lipoprotein.
Other candidates for the favorable effect are
decreased fibrinogen, decreased
platelet activity, lower levels of
inflammation, greater insulin sensitivity,
better endothelial function,
reduced endothelin 1 synthesis,
reduced low density lipoprotein oxidation,
and smooth muscle proliferation.
Given the
compelling evidence that decreased HRV is an independent predictor of
CHD mortality, the present
findings suggest that an increase in HRV may be a potential pathway for
the protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption on CHD.
Whether the effect of moderate alcohol consumption
on CHD is attributable to ethanol alone or if there are beverage
specific differences is debated.
A recent review concluded that wine drinkers are at
a decreased risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared with
non-wine drinkers, whereas other meta-analyses found that wine drinking
confers no particular benefit.
However, in this study wine was the only independent determinant of HRV
among the alcoholic beverages, suggesting that only wine may have
favorable effects mediated by this pathway.
Authors affiliations
I. Janszky, M Blom, A Georgiades, H Alinagizadeh, S
Ahnve, Preventive Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences,
Karolinska Institute, and Centre of Public Health, Stockholm County
Council, Stockholm, Sweden
M. Ericson, Department of Industrial Economics,
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
J-O Magnusson, Department of Cardiology, St Gorans
Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
Click here to view full paper:
http://press.psprings.co.uk/heart/march/314_ht35105.pdf
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