Alcohol can cut risk of men's heart problem

Good morning friends. Most men usually drink alcohol. Even young ones do that. Some parents advice their children especially boys that they should not get use to drink alcohol as it is bad in the body. But there is a study that alcohol can cut risk of men’s heart problem.

Alcohol lovers have now one more excuse to say 'cheers' every day, as a new research said it can cut the risk of heart problems by almost a third in men.

The Spanish research involving more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women found that those who have about four to ten units a day can apparently even halve their risk – regardless of whether they opt for beer, wine or spirits.

Women can get some benefits too, said the study published in Heart journal, although more testing is needed.

The research involved men and women aged between 29 and 69, who were asked to document their lifetime drinking habits and followed for 10 years.

Crucially the research team claim to have eliminated the "sick abstainers" risk by differentiating between those who had never drunk and those whom ill-health had forced to quit.

This has been used in the past to explain fewer heart-related deaths among drinkers on the basis that those who are unhealthy to start with are less likely to drink, the BBC reported.
The exact mechanisms are as yet unclear, but it is known that alcohol helps to raise high-density lipoproteins, sometimes known as good cholesterol, which helps stop so-called bad cholesterol from building up in the arteries.

The study was conducted in Spain, a country with relatively high rates of alcohol consumption and low rates of coronary heart disease.

However, British experts warn the claims must not be seen as a green light to over-indulge.
Cathy Ross, of the British Heart Foundation, said:

"While alcohol could offer limited protection to one organ, abuse of it can damage the heart and other organs, such as the liver, pancreas and brain."

Robert Sutton, professor of surgery at Liverpool University, said the study had "several flaws" and must not be taken to mean high levels of alcohol can improve health.

They warned that heavy drinking can increase the risk of other diseases, as alcohol responsible for 1.8 million deaths globally per year. – Indian Express

Women's heart rate helps detect health risks

Measuring a woman's heart rate at rest can help predict her risk of heart attack or dying from heart disease, giving doctors a simple, inexpensive way to monitor health risks. Postmenopausal women who had the highest resting heart rate were 26 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack or die from cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest rates.

Previous studies have linked resting heart rate to such problems in men but the relationship has been less certain for women, in part because trials did not include enough women to get a statistically significant result.

Heart disease is the world's leading cause of death. It is caused by fatty deposits that harden and block arteries, high blood pressure which damages blood vessels, and other factors.

Resting heart rate measures beats per minute after sitting still to gauge how well the heart works when not stressed. Women with resting heart rates of more than 76 beats per minute were found to be 26 per cent more likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease than those with heart rates of 62 beats per minute or lower.

"People have to put in perspective that it is not as much as smoking but it is still a clinically meaningful amount."

Researchers compensated for factors known to increase heart attack and disease risk such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and drinking, and monitored the women for an average of nearly eight years.

Although resting heart rate is usually lower among people who are physically fit. The measurement could help predict heart attack risk for women regardless of how much they exercise. Researchers said they found no correlation between resting heart rate and stroke.

Reference: Indian Express