%0 Journal Article
%T Alcohol: friend or foe?
%A Ricardo A. Gonz¨˘lez
%J MEDICC Review
%D 2011
%I Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC)
%X Popular belief has it that alcohol, particularly red wine, protects against atherosclerosis and associated cardio- and cerebrovascular conditions. That presumption motivates this paper, which describes the mechanisms underlying the J-shaped risk curve for alcohol use, with benefits for vascular disease risk at low consumption levels and harmful effects-both directly on the user and indirectly on the bystander-at higher levels. The importance of further exploring alcohol use in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and of intervening to modify non-social use of alcohol to prevent serious adverse health consequences is also addressed.
%K Alcohol-related disorders
%K burden of illness
%K atherosclerosis
%K atherogenesis
%K vascular disease
%K risk factors
%K Cuba
%U http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1555-79602011000400011