Results:

Mean age was 76 ± 5 years, 20% were black, and 60% were women. Nondrinkers were older, had lower education level and lower annual income, and were more likely to be diabetic. Drinkers of ≥14 drinks per week were more frequently smokers. The relationship between alcohol consumption and hypertension was U-shaped in both sexes, with hypertension being more frequent among nondrinkers and in those participants drinking ≥14 drinks per week. In both genders, increasing alcohol intake was associated with larger left ventricular (LV) diastolic and systolic diameters and larger left atrial diameter (p < 0.05). In men, increasing alcohol intake was associated with greater LV mass (8.2 ± 3.8 g per consumption category; p = 0.029) and higher E/E′ ratio (0.82 ± 0.33 per consumption category; p = 0.014). In women, increasing alcohol intake was associated with lower LV ejection fraction (−1.9 ± 0.6% per consumption category; p = 0.002) and a tendency for worse LV global longitudinal strain (0.45 ± 0.25% per consumption category; p = 0.07).