Details

Chairman's Introduction (T. Peters). <p>Alcohol and Cardiovascular Diseases: An Historic Overview (A. Klatsky).</p> <p>Metabolic Consequences of Alcohol Ingestion (T. Peters & V. Preedy).</p> <p>Alcohol and the Myocardium (P. Richardson, <i>et al.</i>).</p> <p>Alcohol, Free Radicals and Antioxidants (I. Puddey, <i>et al.</i>).</p> <p>Alcohol, Cardiac Arrhythmias and Sudden Death (M. Kupari & P. Koskinen).</p> <p>Alcohol Intake, Lipids and Risks of Myocardial Infarction (J. Gaziano & J. Buring).</p> <p>Alcohol, Coagulation and Fibrinolysis (H. Hendriks & M. van der Gaag).</p> <p>Alcohol, Blood Pressure and Hypertension (U. Keil, <i>et al.</i>).</p> <p>Do Known Cardiovascular Risk Factors Mediate the Effect of Alcohol on Cardiovascular Disease? (M. Criqui).</p> <p>The J-Shaped Curve and Changes in Drinking Habit (A. Shaper & S. Wannamethee).</p> <p>Mechanisms of Alcohol-Related Strokes (M. Hillbom, <i>et al.</i>).</p> <p>The French Paradox and Wine Drinking (S. Renaud & R. Gueguen).</p> <p>Alcohol and All-Cause Mortality: An Overview (J. Rehm & S. Bondy).</p> <p>Alcohol, Cardiovascular Diseases and Public Health Policy (P. Anderson).</p> <p>Chairman's Summing-Up (T. Peters).</p> <p>Indexes.</p>

"I highly recommend this book as an essential reference volume on alcohol and the cardiovascular system..." (<i>Addiction Biology</i>, Vol. 6, 2001) <p>"The papers in this volume consider the evidence for the so-called J-shape curve and propose biological explanations for this effect..." (<i>Aslib Book Guide</i>, Vol. 64, No. 3, March 1999)</p>

<p><b>Derek J. Chadwick</b> and <b>Jamie A. Goode</b> are editors for <i>Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease</i> and other scientific titles.</p>

Recent years have seen a sea-change in society's attitudes towards moderate alcohol consumption with the popular view now well-established that a modest amount of alcohol, regularly ingested, will benefit health. Despite wide agreement that some degree of protection from coronary heart disease exists for certain groups who use alcohol regularly and that there are biological mechanisms which might go some way to explaining such protection, there is still some concern regarding the true magnitude of any benefit. Additional issues include the relationship of alcohol to blood pressure and cerebrovascular disease, the influence of the pattern of drinking as opposed to overall intake, the effects on ill health of changes in alcohol intake and the association of alcohol with a wide range of psychosocial factors, as well as with all-cause mortality. There is also considerable uncertainty about the effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system in women and in the elderly and on the role that genetic factors might play. This wide-ranging book brings together an interdisciplinary group of experts working on many aspects of the biological effects of alcohol, and in particular on the cardiovascular system. It dra ws together new and exciting work in this area, reviewing an emotive subject from as dispassionate a perspective as possible. This book provides a firm basis for further research into the effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system and into public health attitudes to what is both a universal pleasure and a problem.

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