So two days ago, I pointed out a study published this month in the European Heart Journal that concluded that fish oil plus plant-derived ALA might lower one's risk of repeat heart attack in those unable to take statins. Well, in a prospective cohort study (Health Professionals Follow-up Study or HPFS) published in the same issue, the authors followed for 20yrs 1,818 men after their first heart attack. Alcohol consumption was assessed every 4 years from prior to the initial myocardial infarction through two decades later.The authors found an inverted U-shaped curve between alcohol consumption and both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after an initial myocardial infarction. In other words, those male heart attack survivors who consumed a moderate amount of alcohol regularly (1-2 servings/day) had the lowest risk of death regardless of cause compared to those who were teetotalers and those who consumed more than 2 drinks/day. This should not be a surprise finding as many other studies have demonstrated a similar association.
So if you're a guy who had the bad luck to have had a heart attack but the good luck to have survived the event, we might want to consider expanding our acronym from ABC to A2BC-AFS: Alcohol, Aspirin, Blood pressure & Cholesterol control, and either ALA+Fish oil or Statin, with the proviso that ALA & Fish Oil might only be useful in those who can't tolerate a statin (which remains standard of care).
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