Toast to Good Health

A leading cause of death worldwide, heart attack risk may be mitigated via lifestyle and dietary choices.   Darryl P. Leong, from the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University (Canada), and colleagues analyzed data collected on study subjects residing in 52 countries, including 12,195 cases of first myocardial infarction (MI) and 15,583 matched controls.  The researchers surveyed alcohol use via questionnaire.  Compared to not drinking at all, current alcohol use was linked to a 13% lower risk of heart attack, on average, in almost all regions, with the exception of certain South Asian countries. Having six or more drinks in the past 24 hours was associated with a 40% increased risk of heart attack, especially for people over age 65.   Observing that: “low levels of alcohol use are associated with a moderate reduction in the risk of [heart attack],” the study authors submit that: “ the strength of this association may not be uniform across different countries.”