Moderate drinking may reduce women's heart attack risk

AORN Journal, July, 2007

Women who regularly drink alcohol in moderation but do not get drunk may reduce their risk of having a nonfatal heart attack, according to a June 5, 2007, article in the New York Times. Women who had a daily alcoholic drink were 31% less likely to have a nonfatal heart attack than women who had less than one drink a day. Women who became drunk (eg, those who experienced slurred speech or unsteady gait) even once a month, however, were almost six times more likely to have a heart attack.

Researchers studied 320 women between the ages of 35 and 69 years who had experienced heart attacks and compared them with 1,565 healthy women of similar age. Data were adjusted for age, race, education, smoking, and body mass index. The data were collected through self reporting, which may be subject to error; however, the implications of the study are that there may be health benefits to the moderate consumption of alcohol.

Bakalar N. Heart health: women who drink a little may lower heart-attack risk. New York Times. June 5, 2007. http:// www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/health/05hear.html. Accessed June 5, 2007.