Alcohol and Congestive Heart Failure
Authors: Ali Ahmed, Richard M. Allman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2003)

Letters7 January 2003Alcohol and Congestive Heart FailureAli Ahmed, MD, MPH and Richard M. Allman, MDAli Ahmed, MD, MPHUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041 (Ahmed)Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041 (Allman)Search for more papers by this author and Richard M. Allman, MDUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041 (Ahmed)Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041 (Allman)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-138-1-200301070-00019 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Walsh and colleagues (1) considered many observations from persons who had more than one follow-up examination. Thus, a single participant could contribute more than one follow-up interval to the analysis. The investigators used the AndersonGill multiplicative hazards model for multiple failure outcomes to adjust for any clustering of observations by study participants.The effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system have been reported to be genetically determined (2). In Walsh and colleagues' study, collection of data on alcohol consumption began almost 24 years after the start of the study (from examination 12). It is possible that genetically ...References1. Walsh CR, Larson MG, Evans JC, Djousse L, Ellison RC, Vasan RS, . Alcohol consumption and risk for congestive heart failure in the Framingham Heart Study. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:181-91. [PMID: 11827493] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Hines LM, Rimm EB. Moderate alcohol consumption and coronary heart disease: a review. Postgrad Med J. 2001;77:747-52. [PMID: 11723311] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Hunt SA, Baker DW, Chin MH, Cinquegrani MP, Feldman AM, Francis GS, . ACC/AHA guidelines for the evaluation and management of chronic heart failure in the adult: executive summary. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee to revise the 1995 Guidelines for the Evaluation and Management of Heart Failure). J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001;38:2101-13. [PMID: 11738322] MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Remme WJ, Swedberg K. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure. Eur Heart J. 2001;22:1527-60. [PMID: 11492984] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Grady D, Hulley SB. Hormones to prevent coronary disease in women: when are observational studies adequate evidence? [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2000;133:999-1001. [PMID: 11119402] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Ali Ahmed, MD, MPH; Richard M. Allman, MDAffiliations: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041 (Ahmed)Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041 (Allman) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoHormones To Prevent Coronary Disease in Women: When Are Observational Studies Adequate Evidence? Deborah Grady and Stephen B. Hulley Alcohol Consumption and Risk for Congestive Heart Failure in the Framingham Heart Study Craig R. Walsh , Martin G. Larson , Jane C. Evans , Luc Djousse , R. Curtis Ellison , Ramachandran S. Vasan , and Daniel Levy Metrics 7 January 2003Volume 138, Issue 1Page: 75KeywordsAlcohol consumptionAlcoholsEstrogen replacement therapyExerciseGenetic predispositionHeartHeart failureLongitudinal studiesObservational studiesSmoking habits ePublished: 7 January 2003 Issue Published: 7 January 2003 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2003 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...