Source: DGNews  |  Posted 8 years ago

By Maggie Schwarz

NEW YORK, NY -- May 15, 2003 -- One glass of wine, beer, or hard liquor per day improves arterial elasticity, even in patients with hypertension, researchers reported here May 14th at the 18th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.

Arterial elasticity is an accepted predictor of cardiovascular risk, and improves when conditions such as hypertension and dyslipidemia are treated properly, according to Reuven Zimlichman, MD, of Wolfson Medical Center and Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. Arterial elasticity is affected by aging, myocardial infarction, and atherosclerosis. "It is an excellent surrogate endpoint for cardiovascular health," Dr. Zimlichman asserted.

To determine the effect of modest alcohol intake on arterial elasticity, Dr. Zimlichman and colleagues tracked 308 healthy European participants between 15 and 80 years of age with a body mass index below 30 kg/m2.

Modest alcohol intake was defined as no more than one glass of wine or beer, or less than 30 mL of hard liquor per day. The study excluded heavy smokers, habitual drinkers, and subjects with disease. Those with mild obesity were allowed, as were smokers of a few cigarettes per day. Dr. Zimlichman noted, however, that smoking even a few cigarettes per day stiffens arteries.

"All drinkers, particularly wine drinkers, demonstrated increased elasticity in both small and large arteries, as well as lower heart rates, compared with nondrinkers," noted Dr. Zimlichman. Wine drinkers also had a higher cardiac output.

Dr. Zimlichman noted that arterial elasticity is easy to measure. "We measured radial artery waveforms [of 243 study subjects] using a calibrated proprietary tonometer (HDI/PulseWave TM CR-2000, Hypertension Diagnostics, Inc.). The noninvasive sensor derives mean values obtained over 16 cardiac cycles."

The only negative effect associated with moderate drinking was a slight increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Beer drinkers showed the highest bloodpressure elevations. All blood pressure levels, however, were within the normal range. Dr. Zimlichman attributed the increase in blood pressure to a slight increase in systemic vascular resistance.

Dr. Zimlichman concluded that moderate wine drinking is associated with higher arterial elasticity, lower pulse rate, and higher stroke volume. He recommends one glass of wine, rather than hard liquor or beer, because patientswill drink too much hard liquor, and, in this study, beer elevated blood pressure more than liquor or wine. He warned that excessive drinking increases blood pressure levels and reduces arterial elasticity.

[Study title: Effects of Modest Wine/Beer Drinking on Arterial Elasticity in Healthy European Population - The Seven European Sites Study (SESS). Abstract OR13]