Alcohol has diverse effects on the cardiovascular system. Moderate drinking is associated
with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, yet increasing amounts of alcohol consumption
are known to increase blood pressure. These opposing effects have led to interest
in the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)
in patients with hypertension. To test the hypothesis that moderate alcohol consumption
decreases the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with hypertension, we used data
on 5,164 participants in the Physicians’ Health Study who were apparently healthy and free
of CHD at baseline. Incident MI was ascertained by annual follow-up questionnaires and
validated through review of medical records. Cox proportional hazard model was used to
compute multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals.
From 1982 to 2008, 623 cases of MI occurred. Compared to subjects consuming <1
drink per week, hazard ratios for MI were 1.05 (95% confidence interval 0.85 to 1.28), 0.78
(95% confidence interval 0.64 to 0.97), and 0.57 (95% confidence interval 0.35 to 0.95) for
alcohol consumption of 1 to 4, 5 to 7, and >8 drinks per week adjusted for age, body mass
index, smoking, exercise, diabetes, multivitamin use, vegetable intake, breakfast cereal
intake, and cholesterol (p for trend <0.0022). Similar inferences could be made for the
secondary outcomes of angina pectoris and any CHD (which included MI, angina pectoris,
and previous revascularization). In conclusion, our data demonstrated an inverse relation
between moderate alcohol consumption and CHD in hypertensive men. Published by
Elsevier Inc. (Am J Cardiol 2009;104:932–935)