ALCOHOL

Alcohol and Heart Disease

It is well known that people who drink heavily on a regular basis have higher rate of heart disease, than both moderate and non-drinkers. Alcohol appears to constrict the coronary arteries and some studies suggest that it can injure the heart muscle.

What is Moderate Drinking ?

Over the last several years, a number of studies have suggested that moderate drinkers, are those who have 1 to 2 drinks per day. These people are less likely to develop heart disease than people who don’t drink any alcohol. Alcohol may reduce your risk for heart disease because, in small quantities, it tends to raise blood HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels.

If you are a nondrinker, this is not a recommendation to start using alcohol. If you are pregnant or have another health condition that could make alcohol used harmful, you should not drink. However, if you’re already a moderate drinker you should not exceed two drinks per day.

Count one drink as : 12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine or 1 ½ ounces of hard alcohol (1 ounce = 30 cc)

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a serious and tragic disease that constitutes a major health problem. According to most estimates, about 1 in 10 of all people who drink, will develop the kind of severe, self-destructive habits; diagnosed as alcoholism. Alcohol alone is not the cause of alcoholism. It is possible that alcoholism runs in families, but whether is biological or environmental in nature has yet to be determined.

Recognizing a Drinking Problem

Drinking problems can result from the amount and pattern of alcohol consumption. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are diagnosed through a variety of screening procedures such as :

• Medical Examinations

• Clinical Interviews

• Questionnaires

One of the most commonly used screening devices to detect a drinking problem is called CAGE. This test asks the following questions :

• Have you ever felt the need to cut down on your drinking?

• Have you ever felt annoyed by someone criticizing your drinking?

• Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?

• Have you ever felt the need for an eye-opener : a drink first thing in the morning?

Two or more positive responses signal the need for further assessment from a health care professional.