Moderate Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Heart Failure Among Older Persons

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Heavy alcohol consumption can have toxic effects on the heart that result in heart failure.1,2 The relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and risk of heart failure, however, is largely unknown. One study of patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction (MI) reported that compared with patients consuming little or no alcohol, those reporting moderate consumption had a nonsignificantly lower odds of developing heart failure during hospitalization.3 Investigators have also shown that among persons with existing left ventricular systolic dysfunction, light to moderate drinking is a favorable prognostic factor.4 However, prospective community-based studies of moderate alcohol consumption and heart failure risk among persons free of heart failure at baseline have not been conducted. One would naturally expect such studies to show that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of heart failure, simply because moderate drinking is associated with a reduced risk of MI5,6 and MI is a major risk factor for heart failure. Yet, moderate alcohol consumption, perhaps by lowering blood pressure7,8 or by promoting neurohormonal changes that prevent the clinical onset of heart failure,9,10 might reduce heart failure risk via pathways that do not necessarily involve MI.