Estudios científicos
Dose-related effects of red wine and alcohol on heart rate variability
Abstract:
In healthy subjects a standard drink of either red wine (RW) or ethanol (EtOH) has no effect on muscle sympathetic nerve activity or on heart rate (HR), whereas two drinks increase both. Using time- and frequency-domain indexes of HR variability (HRV), we now tested in 12 subjects (24-47 yr, 6 men) the hypotheses that 1) this HR increase reflects concurrent dose-related augmented sympathetic HR modulation and 2) RW with high-polyphenol content differs from EtOH in its acute HRV effects. RW, EtOH, and water were provided on 3 days, 2 wk apart according to a randomized, single-blind design. Eight-minute segments were analyzed. One alcoholic drink increased blood concentrations to 36 + or – 2 mg/dl (mean + or – SE), and 2 drinks to 72 + or – 4 (RW) and 80 + or – 2 mg/dl (EtOH). RW quadrupled plasma resveratrol (P < 0.001). HR fell after both water drinks. When compared with respective baselines, one alcoholic drink had no effect on HR or HRV, whereas two glasses of both increased HR (RW, +5.4 + or – 1.2; and EtOH, +5.7 + or – 1.2 min(-1); P < 0.001), decreased total HRV by 28-33% (P < 0.05) and high-frequency spectral power by 32-42% (vagal HR modulation), and increased low-frequency power by 28-34% and the ratio of low frequency to high frequency by 98-119% (sympathetic HR modulation) (all, P < or = 0.01). In summary, when compared with water, one standard drink lowered time- and frequency-domain markers of vagal HR modulation. When compared with respective baselines, two alcoholic drinks increased HR by diminished vagal and augmented sympathetic HR modulation. Thus alcohol exerts dose-dependent HRV responses, with RW and EtOH having a similar effect.
Comentarios divulgativos:
En sujetos sanos un patrón de bebida estándar de vino tinto o etanol no tiene efectos en la actividad del nervio simpatético o en el ritmo cardiaco, sin embargo dos bebidas diarias incrementan ambas características. Usando índices de tiempo y frecuencia de ritmo cardiaco y de variabilidad en este estudio se observan 12 sujetos en los que se realiza la hipótesis de que el ritmo cardiaco aumenta dependiendo de la dosis y que el vino tinto con alto contenido en polifenoles tiene un efecto diferente en la variabilidad del ritmo cardiaco.
