[Wine consumption and prevention of coronary artery disease].

There is a J-shaped correlation between the amount of alcohol consumed per day and overall mortality risk and an inverse correlation between the amount of alcohol consumed per day and cardiovascular mortality. The evidence is stronger for men than for women. The correlations are independent of the type of alcoholic beverage predominantly consumed. Possible mechanisms explaining the cardioprotective, antiatherosclerotic effects of moderate alcohol consumption are inhibition of platelet aggregation, increase in serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and prevention of diabetes mellitus. The two latter mechanisms can also explain a delayed progression of atherosclerosis due to alcohol consumption. The beneficial effects are counteracted by detrimental effects of alcohol on the incidence of cancer diseases, liver cirrhosis, violence and accidents; therefore, alcohol consumption in general cannot be recommended for prevention of cardiovascular diseases.