Wine drinking is associated with increased heart rate variability in women with coronary heart disease

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that alcohol consumption is positively related to heart rate variability (HRV) in women with coronary heart disease (CHD) and therefore that cardiac autonomic activity is potentially implicated in the mediation of the favourable effects of moderate drinking. Design, settings, and patients: Cross sectional study of female patients who survived hospitalisation for acute myocardial infarction or underwent a revascularisation procedure, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, or coronary artery bypass grafting. Main outcome measures: Ambulatory 24 hour ECG was recorded during normal activities. The mean of the standard deviations of all normal to normal intervals for all five minute segments of the entire recording (SDNNI) and the following frequency domain parameters were assessed: total power, high frequency power, low frequency power, and very low frequency power. A standardised questionnaire evaluated self reported consumption of individual alcoholic beverage types: beer, wine, and spirits. Other clinical characteristics, such as age, body mass index, smoking habits, history of diabetes mellitus, menopausal status, educational status, and treatment, were also assessed. Results: Wine intake was associated with increased HRV in both time and frequency domains independently of other clinical covariates (for example, ln SDNNI was 3.89 among wine drinkers v 3.59 among wine non-drinkers in the multivariate model; p = 0.014). In contrast, consumption of beer and spirits and the total amount of alcohol consumed did not relate significantly to any of the HRV parameters. Conclusion: Intake of wine, but not of spirits or beer, is positively and independently associated with HRV in women with CHD. These results may contribute to the understanding of the complex relation between alcohol consumption and CHD.

Cardiovascular diseases, risk factors and short-term heart rate variability in an elderly general population: the CARLA study 2002–2006

“…While some studies reported a positive association of alcohol consumption with HRV in women [109,111], others found a negative [31,33] or no association at all [22,71,110,112]. Our results are in line with the latter findings.…”

Effects of chronic moderate alcohol consumption and novel environment on heart rate variability in primates (Macaca fascicularis)

“…However, the little data available for moderate alcohol consumption effects on HR and HRV are inconsistent. In one study, long-term moderate alcohol consumption in human beings was associated with modest changes in HRV; however, other studies report no effects on cardiac regulation (Kageyama et al 1997;Masters et al 2004;Janszky et al 2005). Further, the data concerning the effects of moderate alcohol consumption are based on selfreported alcohol intake, the accuracy of which is influenced by many variables.…”

(–)-Epicatechin mediates beneficial effects of flavanol-rich cocoa on vascular function in humans

“…Our findings, in conjunction with the reported outcomes of dietary interventions using different flavanol-rich foods (5-7), support the notion that epicatechin is, indeed, an important mediator of the cardiovascular effects of diets rich in flavanols. Given the above, it is reasonable to speculate that the reported positive cardiovascular effects of other flavanol-rich foods͞beverages, including purple grape juice (7), tea (5), and red wine (6), are mediated in part through similar mechanisms. Thus, the findings in the current paper may provide new avenues to dietary or therapeutic interventions aimed at improving, and maintaining, cardiovascular health.…”

“…Recent dietary interventions in humans using f lavanolcontaining foods have substantiated epidemiological data on an inverse relationship between flavanol intake and the risk of CVD, indicating various potential flavanol-mediated bioactivities, including the improvement of vasodilation (4)(5)(6)(7)(8), blood pressure (9), insulin resistance, and glucose tolerance (10), the attenuation of platelet reactivity (11), and the improvement of immune responses and antioxidant defense systems (12,13). Subsequent investigations in vitro were aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms that represent the causal mechanistic principles for flavanol-mediated bioactivities in vivo.…”