Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with decreased platelet activity in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction

Moderate alcohol consumption (MAC) and platelet inhibition have been indepe ndently associated with a reduced risk for the development of acute myocard ial infarction (AMI). The effects of MAC on the initial platelet status in patients presenting with AMI are not elucidated. Here we sought to define t he effects of MAC on platelet characteristics in AMI patients before applyi ng any reperfusion strategies. The study was designed as an analysis within the cohort study in 23 patients with AMI enrolled in the GUSTO-III. Platel ets were investigated by different techniques, including aggregometry, flow cytometry, and ELISA. MAC patients exhibited mild, but consistent, inhibit ion of platelet aggregability, surface receptor expression, and released su bstances as compared to non-alcohol consuming patients. These differences w ere significant for 5 mu M ADP (p = 0.04), 10 mu M ADP-induced aggregation (p = 0.02); P-selectin (p = 0.01), and PECAM-1 (p = 0.02) platelet-bound ex pression. Our study confirms that moderate alcohol consumption is associate d with diminished platelet activation in patients presenting with AMI. The ability of MAC to favorably modulate the pre-reperfusion platelet status in such patients is of clinical importance, and further investigation in larg e-scale clinical trials seem warranted.