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Women who drink alcohol have a greater chance of surviving a myocardial infarction
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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Scientists from the USA have discovered that women who drink alcohol have a greater chance of surviving a myocardial infarction.
In a study by Harvard University staff, more than 1,200 women who had been hospitalized with a heart attack were surveyed about their health and lifestyle, including alcohol consumption. As a result of the survey, the participants in the experiment were divided into three groups: those who practically did not drink, those who consumed 1 to 3 standard doses of alcohol (about 14 grams in terms of pure alcohol) per week, and those who drank more than 3 standard doses weekly.
According to European standards, one serving of alcohol is 290 grams of beer, or 125 ml of wine, or 25 ml of strong alcohol.
They were then followed for 10 years.
It turned out that in the group of the heaviest drinkers, 18% of women died during the observation period, in the group of moderate drinkers – 25%, and among non-drinkers this figure reached 44%. Thus, alcohol consumption reduced the probability of death in the 10-year period after a heart attack by 35%.
Study leader Joshua Rosenbloom noted that the observed pattern did not depend on the type of alcoholic drink, so it is likely that the alcohol itself has a preventive effect in this case.
Therefore, scientists have recommended not to force patients with myocardial infarction to completely give up alcohol. At the same time, it is very important to be very careful in the amount of alcohol consumed, since exceeding the recommended doses of alcohol can lead to the development of addiction, as well as hypertension, stroke, some forms of cancer and other diseases.