Scientists have revealed how much alcohol per week can reduce the risk of heart attack

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The negative effects of alcohol abuse have long been known. But there are studies that show its beneficial effects when consumed in moderate amounts.

So the study helped to find a relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease. The authors initially took healthy elderly people as a basis. This became a distinctive point of the work. Typically, such studies are conducted on young people.

The researchers used data from about 18,000 participants from the United States and Australia, aged over 70. They did not have cardiovascular disease, dementia or a disability that limited their independence. Each participant reported how much alcohol they consumed per week.

The researchers performed a cross-sectional analysis with health data collected over almost five years. It was found that participants in the groups who drank 3.5 drinks per week reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease. In particular, they were less likely to have a heart attack, stroke or heart failure, compared with those who never drank alcohol. The findings were relevant for both sexes.

While the results showed that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of heart disease overall, they also showed that it may reduce the risk of premature death. This was all observed in the same group of participants.

Study leader Johannes Neumann, MD, a cardiologist from the School of Public Health at Monash University, commented on the results: “moderate alcohol consumption in this group of healthy older people did not have a negative impact on cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. However, further research is needed.”