Is drinking safe after a big heart attack and clot in leg?
Patient: After a big heart attack i am waiting for a another op to put 2 more stents in. Whist in hospital i got a clot in my right leg, extremely painful. I used to go out once a week to chat to mates and have a jar. I have had Fibromyalgia for many years. I am now getting stir crazy staring at 4 walls. A mate is prepared to give me a door to door lift. So far i have been seen by hospital and 3 different doctors, of of my questions was how much Guinness i can have on this one night I don t drink on any other days. So far i have had 3 different answers and i am getting fed up seeing a different doctor each time. I am housebound. Doctor: Hello,  Alcohol is a myocardial toxin and generally, patients are advised to stop drinking alcohol post-myocardial infarction.  However several prospectively performed cohort studies have demonstrated that drinkers of moderate amounts of ethanol are 40% to 70% less likely to manifest coronary artery disease or ischemic stroke when compared with nondrinkers or heavy consumers.  Moderate alcohol intake is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction (MI).  Moderate consumption exerts several beneficial effects, including the following:   (1) an increase in the serum concentrations of HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I;   (2) inhibition of platelet aggregation;   (3) a decreased serum fibrinogen concentration;   (4) increased antioxidant activity (from the phenolic compounds and flavonoids contained in red wine);   (5) anti-inflammatory effects (with lower concentrations of white blood cells and C-reactive protein); and   (6) improved fibrinolysis resulting from increased concentrations of endogenous tissue plasminogen activator and a concomitant decrease in endogenous plasminogen activator inhibitor activity.  One pint of Guinness a day is considered moderate. These are the pros and cons. Rest is up to you.  Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.  Take care  Regards, Dr Tushar Kanti Biswas, Internal Medicine Specialist