A bit of booze is best for your blood

     Washington: A new study published in the recent issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research has shown that moderate drinkers tend to have lower rates of heart disease but higher rates of bleeding-type strokes than abstainers. The study confirms previous studies that moderate drinking has effects on blood coagulation - primarily as a "blood thinner" - which can have both positive and negative effects. "The contrasting effects of alcohol are similar to the effects of blood thinners like aspirin, which clearly prevent heart attacks but at the expense of some additional bleeding strokes. Acting as a blood thinner makes sense, because heart attacks are caused by blood clots that form in clogged arteries, and blood thinners can hasten bleeding from injured arteries. Based on these findings, we speculated that moderate drinking would also act as a blood thinner," said researcher Kenneth J. Mukamal. In 1971, a total of 5,124 men and women enrolled in the Framingham Offspring Study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease - the sons and daughters of participants in the original Framingham Heart Study.

     Participants have been examined and interviewed every four years since 1971, except for an eight-year interval between the first and second visits. This study uses data collected from 3,798 of those participants, examined between April 1, 1991 and March 1, 1994; eventually analyzing data provided by a total of 1,037 participants (460 men and 577 women) for platelet activation and 2,013 participants (879 men and 1,134 women) for platelet aggregation. "We found that among both men and women, an intake of three to six drinks per week or more was linked to lower levels of stickiness measured by aggregability. Among the men, we also found that alcohol intake was linked to lower levels of platelet activation. Together, these findings identify moderate drinking as a potential blood thinner," said Mukamal. The researchers said that the minor differences found between the men and women were more likely due to statistical issues than to any clear gender differences. "Our findings add to a large body of evidence showing that moderate drinking has effects on blood coagulation, which may have both good and bad effects, but now identify a new avenue by which this effect may occur. By themselves, these findings have more importance for understanding risk factors for vascular disease than any clinical relevance, and should not be used by people as any reason to begin drinking," said Mukamal.
Oct 14, 2005

Today's Headlines

TRAVEL NEWS

Travel Sites

Overseas Tourist
Offices

Tourist offices
in India

Helpline