Table 3.
Relationships of Alcohol Consumption to Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs)
| Amount of Alcohol Drinking* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Condition | Moderate | Heavy | Comment |
| Dilated cardiomyopathy | No relationship | Probably causal in some cases | Unknown cofactors may influence association |
| Hypertension (HTN) | Little/no relationship | Probably causal | Mechanism unknown |
| Coronary artery disease (CAD) | Protective | Possibly protective | Dominates all epidemiologic data on CVD |
| Arrhythmia | Probably none | Probably causal in some cases | Other alcohol-related CVDs may influence susceptibility |
| Hemorrhagic stroke | May increase risk | Increased risk | Via HTN and inhibition of blood clotting |
| Ischemic stroke | Protective | Possibly protective | Complex interactions with other CVDs and risks |
*
Moderate drinking = consumption of fewer than three standard drinks per day; heavy drinking = consumption of three or more standard drinks per day. A standard drink = approximately 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, each of which contains approximately 12 grams (0.5 ounce) of alcohol.