People who drink moderate amounts of alcohol may have a reduced risk of developing heart failure, a new study has found.

According to US scientists, while previous research has already found that moderate alcohol consumption can lower the risk of some conditions, its role in relation to heart failure has so far proven inconclusive. They decided to investigate this further.

They looked at over 14,600 men and women aged between 45 and 64. The participants were monitored from between the late 1980s until 2011 - 24 or 25 years in total.

For the purpose of the study, one drink was defined as containing 14g of alcohol - this is equivalent to one small glass of wine, just over a half a pint of beer and less than one shot of spirits, such as vodka.

The participants were divided into six groups:
-Abstainers
-Former drinkers
-Those who consumed up to seven drinks a week
-Those who consumed seven to 14 drinks per week
-Those who consumed 14-21 drinks per week
-Those who consumed over 21 drinks per week.

During the study period, over 2,500 participants developed heart failure.

The study found that those who consumed up to seven drinks per week had the lowest rate of heart failure and these results were more pronounced in males. Men who consumed up to seven drinks a week had a 20% reduced risk of developing heart failure compared to people who did not drink at all.

Among women, this figure was 16%.

The highest risk of heart failure was found among former drinkers - a 19% increased risk among men and a 17% increased risk among women - when compared to those who abstained from alcohol.

"These findings suggest that drinking alcohol in moderation does not contribute to an increased risk of heart failure and may even be protective," commented Prof Scott Solomon of Harvard Medical School.

In relation to the finding that former drinkers had the highest risk of developing heart failure, he pointed out that this ‘could be related to the reasons why they had stopped drinking in the first place, for instance because they had already developed health problems that might have made them more likely to go on to develop heart failure'.

The scientists added that the differences in risk between men and women may be due to the fact that women metabolise alcohol in a different way to men and can be affected differently.

Details of these findings are published in the European Heart Journal.