Moderate beer consumption and the blood coagulation in patients with coronary artery disease

Objectives. To evaluate the influence of a short period of moderate beer consumption on the status of the thrombolitic activity in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Subjects and design. From 28 patients with two- or three-vessel CAD 22 were randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG) and six to control group (CG). Before and after completion of the study every one of the 28 patients was examined and a wide range of laboratory tests was performed. Setting. A University Hospital in Israel. Intervention. Of the EG, 22 patients consumed 330 mL of beer day^-1 (20 g of alcohol) for the 30-day period in addition to the usual antiatherosclerotic diet. Patients of the CG did not consume alcohol beverages. Main outcome measures. Fibrinogen, prothrombin time (PT), coagulant activity of Factor VII (F VIIc) and Factor VII antigen (F VIIag), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) levels were studied. Results. After the investigation a statistically significant decrease was found in F VIIc (P < 0.01) and F VIIag (P < 0.001) and to a lesser extent a decrease in the value of PAI. Fibrinogen and PT remained unchanged in the EG also. Conclusions. Even a short period of moderate beer consumption results in a decrease in thrombogenic activity. The only sensitive tests were FVIIc and F Wag. The decrease in thrombogenic activity may be the main cause of decreased mortality in patients with CAD who consume moderate quantities of alcoholic beverages.