Page 39 - Clinical Pearls in Cardiology

History and General Examination 27

their neighbors. This is attributed to the protective effect
of regular consumption of moderate amount of alcohol,
usually red wine (Ref: Oxford Handbook of Clinical
Medicine; 5th edn; Page 194).
The cardiovascular benefit of moderate alcohol
intake must be balanced against the multiple deleterious
effects of alcohol. Caution is necessary when promoting
the beneficial effects of alcohol on cardiovascular
risk. It is difficult to titrate the dose of alcohol exactly
into the safe range, resulting in loss of the beneficial
effect on mortality and a possible increase in the
incidence of alcohol-related diseases such as cirrhosis,
cardiomyopathy, cancer and accidental deaths.