German “Wine Queen” Eva Lanzerath guest at What's new in cardiology 2021?

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t stopped Prof. Dr. Markus Flesch (head of cardiology at Marienkrankenhaus, Soest, Germany) from maintaining the education events for physicians which will be held this year once again. “What's new in cardiology 2021?”, the first webinar of the series reunited over 80 cardiologists combining the latest scientific facts and enjoying wine moderately at the same time.

Analysing the factors which have an impact on cardiovascular events, Dr. Flesch introduced the latest evidence about new and established drugs as well as invasive and conservative therapies. However, he also explained that lifestyle factors may have an impact on preventing cardiovascular events: moderate wine consumption, for example, may be one of these lifestyle factors. New data showed in fact that the moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages reduced the risk of heart attacks and followed a J-shaped curve with a nadir at about one glass per day.

During the webinar, Dr. Flesch further elaborated on a study with over more than 500,000 participants, where the protective effects of wine seem to be better among moderate wine drinkers. A reduced all-cause mortality was reported only in moderate (sparkling) wine consumers. This is mainly caused by a lower rate for ischemic heart disease (heart attack). The other cardio - and cerebrovascular diseases (diseases of the heart or brain vessels, e.g. stroke) tended to be lower in wine drinkers, but not significantly. There were no relevant results regarding cancer. Besides dietary habits and drinking patterns, Prof. Flesh explained that the alcohol as well as the polyphenols contained in wine can have a positive impact on health.

A virtual wine tasting with the German Wine Queen, Eva Lanzerath, concluded the webinar. With great knowledge about wines and wine regions, she informed the audience about grape varieties and growing areas and gave a general overview of German wines and their characteristics.

During the virtual wine tasting, she presented three different wines from three different wine areas in Germany (Nahe, Saxony and Ahr). The participants received the wines and respective information beforehand, so that they could share the event with their family or partners at home.

At the very beginning of the wine tasting, the wine queen reminded the participants to enjoy moderately and referred to the initiative Wine in Moderation, since only responsible drinking patterns are for true wine lovers.