Mon Apr 2, 2007 12:31PM EDT
By David Douglas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking alcohol at moderate levels -- two or more drinks per day -- appears to be a risk factor for abdominal aortic aneurysm in men, researchers found.
An abdominal aortic aneurysm, or AAA, occurs when the wall of the aorta -- the body's largest artery that carries blood from the heart -- is stretched or weakened as it passes through the abdomen. Blood pumping through the artery can cause the weakened wall to balloon out and possibly rupture, leading to death in many patients.
Dr. Daniel R. Wong of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston and colleagues analyzed data for a cohort of more than 39,000 men covering 1986 to 2002 including 376 newly diagnosed cases of AAA.
No comments:
Post a Comment