Ethanol and cardiovascular diseases: Epidemiological, biochemical and clinical aspects

The effects of alcoholic beverages on the cardiovascular system can take opposite forms, depending on how much of ethanol is consumed. The negative effects of alcoholism are well established. Alcoholism is a cause of cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias and hypertension. The best argument is the situation of Russian Federation where extremely high alcohol consumption caused very high ischemic heart disease and stroke mortality both in male and female population. On the other side there are also many proofs of health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in USA has completed an extensive review of current scientific knowledge about the health effects of moderate alcohol consumption: the lowest death rate from all causes occurs at the level of one drink per day. Moderate drinkers have the greatest longevity. Higher serum levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL) in moderate alcohol drinkers are associated with reduced risk for the development of atherosclerotic disease. HDL particles are believed to be antiatherogenic due to their capacity to drive reverse cholesterol transport and to antagonize pathways of inflammation, thrombosis, and oxidation.