Alcohol

[kirstinherbs]

Dr Fett,

Just wanted to ask your advice re alcohol intake.

Should someone with recovered ppcm drink any alcohol. i like a couple of glasses of wine with my evening meal so I guess I drink a bottle or two (red wine) in a week. Is this too much, should I be having any. my cardiologist says it's ok in moderation but what is moderation!? In his book Dr Silver says he advises his heart failure patients to omit alcohol completely but he doesn't say what he advises recovered patients to do.

What do you advise?

Kind regards

Kirstin-

[JAMESFETT]

Unless one is addicted to alcohol I have never seen any reason to totally avoid alcohol for recovered PPCM patients. I don't find anything in my experience or the medical literature that would change that. Defining "moderation" in the use of alcohol is difficult, but what I am thinking about is in the range of a glass of wine a day. Best wishes,

JD

[mygirl22]

My cardio advised me to also omit alcohol completely. I guess because of some affect on the bp??? I would like to have a clearer understanding also. I haven't taken 1 drink in fears of something bad hapening. :confused:

[JAMESFETT]

Alcohol can be toxic to heart--and liver and brain, etc; but that is when taken in excess, as for example in a person addicted to alcohol can have a dilated cardiomyopathy. On the other hand, alcohol in moderation, such as equivalent of one glass of wine per day, benefits high density cholesterol (the good one), and may decrease the incidence of coronary artery disease. I'm sure that a recovered PPCM patient would be in no way harmed by taking a glass of wine per day--unless there is a problem of alcohol addiction, where abstention is the only safe way.

JD

[Lisa V]

Usually on Saturday nights I will have either 1 glass of wine or a wine coller, sometimes I even slurge and have 2 and I am just fine. I can honestly say that I never get wasted any more like in my much younger days before kids just out of fear that something would happen and the fact that I just have grown out of that stage. I started drinking about 1 1/2 years out from diagnosis and now I am 7 years out. Good luck in your decision.

[kirstinherbs]

Thanks Dr Fett

That's reassuring!

Kirstin