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BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Excessive drinking is known to increase blood pressure, however, a new research suggests that men with high blood pressure have a lower risk of heart attack if they have a drink or two per day.
According to the research available Wednesday, small amounts of alcohol may act to thin the blood while increasing levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol in such patients, resulting in a protective effect.
The research was led by Joline Beulens of Wageningen University in the Netherlands who at the time was a visiting scholar at Harvard School of Public Health.
In their study, the researchers tracked more than 11,700 men diagnosed with high blood pressure who were between the ages of 40 and 75.
All the men in the study completed initial and follow-up questionnaires between 1986 and 2002 that collected information on their medical history, diets, and drinking habits.
Every four years participants filled out a questionnaire including details of how often they drank beer, red wine, white wine and spirits.
During the 16 years of the study, 653 of the participants had a heart attack, and in 279 cases, the attack was fatal. However, Beulens and her team found that moderate drinking was associated with a decrease in the overall risk for heart attack.
Compared to abstainers, men with hypertension who drank about a drink per day were 32 percent less likely to experience fatal or non-fatal heart attack; men who drank between one and two drinks per day had a 28 percent lower risk.
Spirits, followed by beer and wine, were the most popular option among those study participants who drank. Moderate consumption of spirits also showed the strongest association with lowered heart attack risk, the researchers said.
"Men with hypertension that drink moderately -- one to two drinks a day -- do not need to change those habits," Beulens said.
However she urged men not to have three drinks a day, as this increases their blood pressure and risk of an attack.
Because the study only looked at men the authors said it is impossible to say whether or not the findings also apply to women.
BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Excessive drinking is known to increase blood pressure, however, a new research suggests that men with high blood pressure have a lower risk of heart attack if they have a drink or two per day.
According to the research available Wednesday, small amounts of alcohol may act to thin the blood while increasing levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol in such patients, resulting in a protective effect.
The research was led by Joline Beulens of Wageningen University in the Netherlands who at the time was a visiting scholar at Harvard School of Public Health.
In their study, the researchers tracked more than 11,700 men diagnosed with high blood pressure who were between the ages of 40 and 75.
All the men in the study completed initial and follow-up questionnaires between 1986 and 2002 that collected information on their medical history, diets, and drinking habits.
Every four years participants filled out a questionnaire including details of how often they drank beer, red wine, white wine and spirits.
During the 16 years of the study, 653 of the participants had a heart attack, and in 279 cases, the attack was fatal. However, Beulens and her team found that moderate drinking was associated with a decrease in the overall risk for heart attack.
Compared to abstainers, men with hypertension who drank about a drink per day were 32 percent less likely to experience fatal or non-fatal heart attack; men who drank between one and two drinks per day had a 28 percent lower risk.
Spirits, followed by beer and wine, were the most popular option among those study participants who drank. Moderate consumption of spirits also showed the strongest association with lowered heart attack risk, the researchers said.
"Men with hypertension that drink moderately -- one to two drinks a day -- do not need to change those habits," Beulens said.
However she urged men not to have three drinks a day, as this increases their blood pressure and risk of an attack.
Because the study only looked at men the authors said it is impossible to say whether or not the findings also apply to women.
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