The association between alcohol and heart failure is explored in a study of 33,760 Swedish men aged 45-79 years who were followed up from 1998 to 2011.

The study uses two kinds of modelling, and the only significant association to emerge is that of a reduced risk of heart failure in men with an intake of 7-14 units per week in one model.

The curve is U shaped overall, but even in this large cohort the association does not reach statistical significance at any other point.

Reference

Dorans, K.S., Mostofsky, E., Levitan, E.B., Hakansson, N., Wolk, A. & Mittleman, M.A. (2015) Alcohol and Incident Heart Failure Among Middle-Aged and Elderly Men: The Cohort of Swedish Men. Circulation: Heart Failure. Published online before print. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.114.001787.