Tipple a day keeps the doctor away...

IT sounds like a case of wishful drinking but alcohol can help patients with heart disease avoid an early death.

Moderate daily drinking slashes death rates by more than a quarter and halves the risk of another heart attack or stroke – when compared to teetotallers – according to a study of 48,423 people with heart problems.

Drinking up to six pints of medium-strength beer or just over a bottle of wine a week protects against heart attack, stroke or angina.

The greatest benefit was seen in those who drank around half a pint of beer, a small glass of wine or a single measure of spirits a day. Mortality rates due to any illness also fell by more than a fifth (21 per cent), reports the journal BMC Medicine.

The study author Chengyi Ding said: “Our findings suggest that people who have cardiovascular disease [CVD] may not need to stop drinking in order to prevent additional heart attacks, strokes or angina.

“But they may wish to consider lowering their weekly alcohol intake.”

Drink is believed to boost levels of “good” cholesterol, as well as proteins that combat blood clotting.

But Ms Ding, of University College London, said: “Alcohol is associated with an increased risk of developing other illnesses – such as cancers.”

She added: “Lifestyle and dietary habits play an important role in the secondary prevention of CVD.”

The disease claims 160,000 lives a year. Around 7.6 million in the UK live with a heart or circulatory illness.