Table 1.

 Patient characteristics

	Group A (n = 53)	Group B (n = 172)	p Value
Age (years)	63.5 (10.4)	63.0 (8.1)	0.79
Arterial hypertension (%)	69.8	72.1	0.73
Systolic BP (mm Hg)	133 (21.7)	134 (16.8)	0.69
Diastolic BP (mm Hg)	80.3 (10.6)	81.4 (9.7)	0.50
BMI	26.1 (2.8)	26.4 (3.2)	0.61
Diabetes (%)	26.4	19.8	0.34
Smokers (%)	15.1	17.4	0.84
Previous MI (%)	41.5	33.7	0.33
Previous PTCA (%)	47.2	43.0	0.64
Previous CABG (%)	24.5	13.4	0.08
Medication (%)
β Blocker	86.8	89.0	0.63
ACE inhibitor	73.6	63.4	0.19
AT2 receptor antagonist	9.4	7.6	0.77
Calcium antagonist	24.5	18.6	0.33
ADP receptor antagonist	7.5	9.3	1.0
Aspirin	81.1	86.6	0.37
Statins	73.6	82.0	0.24
Other lipid modifying drugs	1.9	4.1	0.68
Laboratory parameters
Creatinine (μmol/l)	88.4 (22.1)	88.4 (23.9)	0.93
TSH (mU/L)	0.98 (0.61)	1.12 (0.96)	0.32
Homocysteine (µmol/l)	10.9 (3.06)	11.1 (3.98)	0.78
HDL cholesterol (mmol/l)	1.04 (0.27)	1.15 (0.28)	0.01*
LDL cholesterol (mmol/l)	2.82 (0.97)	2.84 (0.81)	0.85
Total cholesterol (mmol/l)	4.50 (1.01)	4.71 (0.94)	0.23
Triglyceride (g/l)	1.27 (0.70)	1.35 (0.86)	0.54
Haemoglobin A1c (%)	5.9 (1.18)	6.0 (0.93)	0.69
Number of diseased vessels (%)			0.009*
1	7.5	26.2
2	24.5	25.6
3	67.9	48.3
Reduced LVEF (%)	43.4	26.2	0.025*

Data are mean (SD) or percentages.

*Significant difference.

Group A, consumption of < 50 g of alcohol a week; group B, consumption of ⩾ 50 g of alcohol a week.

ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme; AT2, angiotensin type 2; BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; CABG, coronary artery bypass graft; HDL, high density lipoprotein; LDL, low density lipoprotein; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; MI, myocardial infarction; PTCA, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone.