A drink or two a day -- beer, wine or liquor -- may help protect against heart failure, a new study suggests.

Researchers followed 5,595 people 65 and older, recording their medical history and alcohol consumption over 7 to 10 years. The study appeared in the July 18 issue of The Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Compared with those who abstain from alcohol, people who consumed 1 to 6 drinks per week were about 16 percent less likely to suffer from heart failure or die of cardiovascular disease, and those who had 7 to 13 drinks per week were about 30 percent less likely to have these problems.

The lower risk held even after statistically adjusting for smoking, exercise intensity, body mass index, and having had a heart attack during the course of the study, as well as many other variables.

A drink was defined as one 12-ounce beer, one 6-ounce glass of wine, or an ounce of hard liquor.

The scientists were unsure why alcohol had this beneficial effect, but they speculated that moderate amounts of alcohol might cause dilation of the arteries, thereby improving blood flow. Heavy and prolonged drinking, however, is a cause of heart disease.

''This study really doesn't change the current recommendations for alcohol consumption,'' said Dr. Chris L. Bryson, the study's lead author and an instructor in medicine at the University of Washington. ''We observed that drinking has a moderately protective effect against heart failure, but we still don't know whether it is the drinking itself that causes the effect. So people should invest their energy in practices that are well known to protect you from heart disease -- healthy diet, exercise and avoiding tobacco.''