Cholesterol, High Cholesterol

Andrade, AC et al compared healthy adults with adults who had high blood pressure and/or high total cholesterol levels and found that the benefits of drinking red wine differed between these groups. Subjects with hypercholesterolemia (A, n=10) or arterial hypertension (B, n=9), or healthy controls (C, n=7) were given red wine (250 mL/night) for 15 days. At the end of the study period, total cholesterol in groups A and B decreased by 17 and 7 mg/dL, respectively. However, in group C (controls) it increased by 22 mg/dL. Red wine significantly increased HDL cholesterol in the controls by 7 mg/dL, but not in the other groups (A: -4 mg/dL, B: +1 mg/dL). LDL cholesterol decreased by 17 and 14 mg/dL in group A and B respectively. The LDL increased by 13 mg/dL in controls. The were no significant changes in hemodynamic measurements. Across all participants, mean blood pressure (BP) decreased 7 mm Hg (p <0.01) and systemic vascular resistance decreased 7% (p = 0.05). Triglycerides increased by 13 mg/dL in group A, 31 mg/dL in group B, and 11 mg/dL in group C, but triglycerides were less than 139 mg/dL in all groups. Heart rate and cardiac output did not significantly change in any group. (73)