Alcohol and cardiovascular disease: the Hawaiian experience.

Data from the Honolulu Heart Program indicate that there is an inverse relation between alcohol intake (up to 60 oz of ethanol/month) and the risk of coronary heart disease incidence and mortality. Alcohol intake is positively related to levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and to hypertension as defined by the criteria of the World Health Organization. Alcohol intake is not related to the incidence of cerebral infarction, but is positively related to the incidence of hemorrhage. Alcohol intake is also related to mortality from cirrhosis of the liver and from various types of cancer.