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Stockholm (pte018/15.02.2005/10:30) - Drinking wine instead of beer and spirits can help keep women's hearts beating healthily, according to new Swedish research. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, scientists studied the effect of alcohol consumption for 102 women under the age of 75 who had survived a heart attack or surgery for blocked arteries. The researchers found that those who drank a small amount of wine every day for a year had the healthiest heart beat rhythms. However, drinking beer or spirits did not seem to have the same effect, said the team from the Karolinska Institute http://www.ki.se in Sweden, who carried out the research.
The Stockholm-based research team asked 102 women under the age of 75 to record their alcohol intake over the course of a year. After a year, a heart tracing (ECG) was taken over 24 hours during routine activities in all the participants to test heart rate variability (HRV). HRV measures the changes in time intervals between the beats of the heart. Decreased variability has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and death. This is because a decreased variability indicates that the heart is less able to respond to the need to speed up blood flow around the body during exercise.
The Swedish researchers found that HRV was highest in women who drank five or more grams of alcohol a day, equivalent to more than half a standard unit, and lowest in those who drank no alcohol at all. However, further analysis showed that the type of alcohol consumed was important. HRV was highest among women who drank wine, even after taking account of other influential factors, such as age, weight, and smoking habits. Beer and spirits had little impact on HRV.
According to researcher Staffan Ahnve, it was possible that drinking wine helped to calm the nervous system, which might have a beneficial effect on heart rhythm. People who drank wine often slept better, which might also make them more relaxed, he added. "We have known for some time that moderate consumption of alcohol (1-2 units per day) might protect against coronary heart disease," said Charmaine Griffiths of the British Heart Foundation. "This research suggests that the type of drink may be important and adds to the evidence that red wine may have specific benefits over and above other alcoholic drinks. In the short term, the good news is that we can all enjoy alcohol in moderation," she added.
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