Dear Colleagues,

Alcohol has been made and consumed for over 7000 years. Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth U.S. president, stated “It has long been recognized that the problems with alcohol relate not to the use of a bad thing, but to the abuse of a good thing.” Past studies have suggested that light to moderate alcohol consumption reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic stroke, as well as CHD mortality and all-cause mortality, especially in western populations. Epidemiological evidence shows a J- or U-shaped association between alcohol consumption and both CHD and all-cause mortality, with higher cardiovascular event rates occurring among abstainers and heavy drinkers compared to moderate consumers. However, this hypothesis has been challenged by more recent studies. Furthermore, ethnicity, gender, type of alcoholic beverage, and pattern of alcohol intake, may also influence the relationship between alcohol and heart health.

Conversely, heavy alcohol consumption causes cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, hemorrhagic strokes, hepatic cirrhosis, and pancreatitis. Excessive drinking is the third most preventable cause of death in the U.S. In this special issue, we review the effects of alcohol on CHD, individual cardiovascular risk factors, cardiomyopathy, and cardiac arrhythmias, including the most recent evidence on the effects of alcohol on heart health. 

Dr.  Vincent Figueredo 

Guest Editor