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Raise a glass, or two, to your health

June 1, 1997

Raise a glass, or two, to your health

Be careful how and whom you counsel about this, but new evidence is in that supports an association between moderate alcohol intake and reduced risk of myocardial infarction and angina pectoris. Data collected in the Physicians’ Health Study continues to be analyzed, and one late report from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, says antiatherogenic mechanisms largely account for the cardiovascular benefit in healthy men.1

Counseling patients about drinking is complex, and cases must be assessed individually. An increase in cancer mortality was seen among participants who consumed at least two drinks a day.

Reference

1. Camargo CA, Stampfer MJ, Glynn RJ, et al. Moderate alcohol consumption and risk for angina pectoris or myocardial infarction in U.S. male physicians. Ann Intern Med 1997; 126:372-375.