Polyphenols are medicine: Is it time to prescribe red wine for our patients?

C ardiovascular disease (CVD) is a multifactorial pathol- ogy and a grave problem of public health. As the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in western industrialized nations, CVD accounts for more than 500,000 deaths from coronary artery disease (CAD) and 170,000 deaths from stroke every year in the United States (US), as reported by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association (1). This represents approximately 40% of the total annual mortality in the US. Additionally, in 2008, the estimated direct and indirect cost of CAD and stroke were US$156.4 billion and US$65.5 billion, respectively, for a grand total of US$448.5 billion for all CVDs. In comparison, the estimated cost reported for all cancers in 2007 was US$219 billion (1). The estimated cost for new cases of HIV/AIDS in 2002 was US$36.4 billion (2). Worldwide, cardiovascular pathology accounts for over 16 million deaths every year, which is approximately 30% of the total global mortality (3).