A significant concern is how alcohol affects the liver’s ability to process medication. Both alcohol and certain blood pressure drugs, such as some calcium channel blockers, are metabolized by the liver. Chronic heavy drinking can strain the liver, altering the rate at which alcohol and high blood pressure the drug is broken down.
Yin 2015 published data only
- That’s because heavy, long-term consumption of alcohol can increase body chemicals that make you hold on to water and that keep your blood vessels from relaxing normally.
- There were risks for misclassifications, and it is possible that some participants changed alcohol consumption amounts during the follow-up time.
- Overall, alcohol’s impact on blood pressure involves a combination of nervous system activation, hormonal changes, and vascular damage, which together increase cardiovascular risk over time.
- Staying mindful of servings, pacing intake intelligently, and taking adequate alcohol-free days will help you maintain balance.
A healthcare professional can help a person find treatment and support to help them stop drinking or lower their intake. Additionally, doses of over 240 mL were also able to reduce diastolic blood pressure. Untreated high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Quitting alcohol or drinking moderately may help keep your numbers where they need to be, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Furthermore, alcohol impairs the function of baroreceptors—sensory receptors in blood vessels that help regulate blood pressure. When these receptors are less responsive, the body struggles to maintain stable blood pressure levels, especially during sudden changes.
- Vijaya Musini (VM) contributed to data analysis, interpretation of the final result, and editing of the final draft of the review.
- And eating a lot of saturated fat can lead to high cholesterol and plaque buildup in arteries, which can narrow and stiffen them, contributing to high blood pressure.
- In contrast, women eliminate alcohol from the body a little faster than men (Thomasson 2000).
- Because hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality, the relationship of alcohol consumption with blood pressure (BP) has been the subject of extensive investigation.
Endothelium and oxidative stress in alcohol-induced hypertension
Although hangovers can feel dreadful, the net effect on BP can vary—some people might see slight dips from dehydration, while others undergo rebounds in sympathetic activity that push pressure higher. Alcohol may make you fall asleep quickly, but you won’t stay that way for long, and even one night of bad sleep may result in a spike in blood pressure that night and the following day, according to a 2019 study in Psychosomatic Medicine. “This can cause weight gain over time, and obesity increases your likelihood of developing high blood pressure,” he says. Here’s what you need to know about the link between alcohol and blood pressure, including alcohol and the risk of high blood pressure, plus tips for how to manage your numbers.
Agreements and disagreements with other studies or reviews
This review aimed to quantify the acute effects of different doses of alcohol over time on blood pressure and heart rate in an adult population. Thus, some studies and cumulative analyses do support the hypothesis of a significant benefit for blood pressure from the reduction/withdrawal of alcoholic beverage consumption. These observations led most scientific societies to provide the current recommendations regarding alcohol consumption. Nonetheless, it should be kept in mind that this evidence comes principally from small-sized and relatively short-lasting studies, and therefore, possible long-term benefits of alcohol reduction in hypertensive patients are still debated.
Kawano 2004 published data only
There are many options available for someone who may have an alcohol addiction! While this can seem unattainable for some, there are many options or programs for making it affordable. For someone who has overcome an alcohol addiction, there are support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous that can help you maintain sobriety.
What are the age-related risk factors of alcohol on blood pressure?
When you drink alcohol, it’s quickly absorbed into your bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine. From there, it travels to your liver for processing, but some circulates throughout your body, affecting your heart, arteries, and blood pressure. This rapid absorption is why alcohol can have almost immediate effects, from relaxation to raising your blood pressure, depending on how much and how often you drink. Metabolism and ClearanceMost alcohol is processed by the liver, where enzymes (e.g., alcohol dehydrogenase) break it https://ecosoberhouse.com/ down into acetaldehyde and then acetate. The average person’s body can generally handle about one standard drink per hour. Exceeding that rate can lead to rising blood alcohol concentrations, which can contribute to short-term physiological changes and potential harm if done repeatedly over time.
Tips to Drink Responsibly with Hypertension
We contacted the author of Rosito 1999 to request additional information regarding the method of blinding used. The study author explained the blinding method in detail in an email, so we classified this study as having low risk of bias. We used GRADEpro software to construct a ‘Summary of findings’ table to compare outcomes including change in SBP and DBP and HR (GRADEpro 2014). In addition, we included illustrative risks to present findings for the most important outcome (change in systolic blood pressure). To prevent various health complications, including high blood pressure, people should try to limit their alcohol consumption to one or two glasses infrequently. Recent data suggest that moderate and heavy drinking contributes to high blood pressure in men and women.
The calcium channel blockers, because of the probability of the involvement of calcium in the development of alcohol-induced hypertension, may also likely be the drug of choice for the treatment of alcohol-induced hypertension. Consuming alcohol beyond moderate levels (and for some individuals, even at moderate levels) can push blood pressure readings higher, especially when combined with other lifestyle factors like high sodium intake, lack of exercise, or obesity. According to the published protocol, we intended to include only double‐blind RCTs in this review. Because higher doses of alcohol exert specific pharmacological effects on drinkers, we had a few double‐blind RCTs after the first screening. Considering the difficulty of masking in these types of studies, we decided to also include single‐blind and open‐label studies in the review. Rosito 1999 reported the effects of 15, 30, and 60 g of alcohol compared to placebo on healthy male volunteers.
In the case of performance bias, we classified six studies as having low risk of bias, 19 studies as having high risk of bias, and seven studies as having unclear risk of bias. The revised guidelines also call for earlier medical intervention, recommending treatment for patients diagnosed with stage 1 hypertension rather than waiting for more advanced symptoms to appear. For the first time in nearly a decade, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have Twelve-step program rolled out new guidelines to help combat high blood pressure—and one of their biggest messages is about alcohol.