Wine and Your Heart

Letter to Editor:We read with interest the AHA consensus statement “Wine and Your Heart” by Goldberg et al.1 Observational studies suggest an inverse association between the consumption of alcoholic beverages and coronary artery disease. It has been suggested that red wine might be more protective than other alcoholic beverages, although observational studies have wide variations in methodology and measurement error in the amount and type of alcoholic beverage consumed.We disagree with the authors that any type of alcoholic beverage consumed in moderation inhibits platelet activity. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that to get significant inhibition of platelet activity an oral dose of alcohol producing a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.15 g/dL is required. …