Monday, February 12, 2007

ALCOHOL AND HYPERTENSION

In the last issue of the Annals of Medicine for 2006 there was an article on the protective effect of two or three glassses of beer or wine. The authors studied about 11,000 healthcare professionals who were hypertensive and drinking 1-2 glasses of beer or wine, when compared to those who drank more, or those who did not drink. They found that those who drank in moderation, had the lowest incidence of heart attacks and retain good control of BP, as opposed to those who drank more.



Those who drank more had higher heart attack rates and also tended to have higher BP. In a way, this fact is known previously. I suppose it is no harm reiterating. However, this study may prove difficult to apply, as there is a very real chance of abuse. Can you imagine, after a clinic visit, the patient tells his wife "dear, Doc say that drinking is good for my BP ". Certainly, this cannot be our intention. So although we know that "a little wine is good for you", yet because of the real problem with control (especially in habitual drinkers), this cannot be a good advice for all. But for those who can control, a little alcohol is good for hypertensives. The problem is, can you stop at two glasses of wine a day?





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