Moderate alcohol use may benefit patients who have undergone coronary stenting, a procedure designed to open blocked heart arteries with a tiny tube, new research suggests. Alcohol seems to produce this effect by inhibiting inflammation. Investigators, writing in the medical journal Heart, note that several studies have shown that moderate alcohol intake (up to 2 drinks per day) reduces the risk of death due to heart disease. But data on alcohol’s effect on long-term prognosis after successful coronary stenting are lacking.
