Experts have known for a while that heavy drinking — meaning eight or more drinks per week for women and 15-plus per week for men — raises your risk for high blood pressure (a.k.a. hypertension). When blood pressure, the force of blood flowing through your arteries, is consistently high, that ups your risk for heart attack, stroke and heart failure, does alcohol lower bp as well as vision loss and kidney disease. The type of alcohol you drink—whether beer, wine, or spirits—does not significantly impact how alcohol raises blood pressure. While red wine contains antioxidants like resveratrol that may have heart-health benefits, drinking too much wine still increases the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. The UK Chief Medical Officers advise against drinking more than 14 standard drinks per week to minimize health risks, including high blood pressure alcohol and cardiovascular disease. Hence, we conducted additional analyses to see if the very high dose of alcohol (≥ 60 g or ≥ 1 g/kg) had any dose‐related effects compared to lower high doses of alcohol (31 to 59 g of alcohol) (see Table 9).
Roth 2018 published data only
So, we had to calculate missing MAP values from reported SBP and DBP values using the formula mentioned in the protocol and we imputed the SE/SD for those. There is likely a dose‐response effect of alcohol on BP, as the effects of alcohol appeared to last longer with higher doses. We intended to find out the dose‐dependent changes in SBP, DBP, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and HR after consumption of a single dose of alcohol. Because the numbers of included studies that fell into our pre‐specified dose categories were not comparable, we were unable to conduct a comprehensive dose‐dependent analysis. Rosito 1999 tested the effects of 15 g, 30 g, and 60 g of alcohol on 40 young medical students.
Agreements and disagreements with other studies or reviews
- It’s all about moderation when it comes to keeping your heart healthy and blood pressure in check, Dr. Appelbaum says.
- We reviewed available evidence about the short‐term effects of different doses of alcoholic drinks compared to non‐alcoholic drinks on blood pressure and heart rate in adults (≥ 18 years) with both normal and raised blood pressure.
- If anything, it’s more about how much you have, and how often you drink, that makes a difference.
- Large RCTs including both hypertensive and normotensive participants with various ethnic backgrounds are required to understand the effects of alcohol on blood pressure and heart rate based on ethnicity and the presence of hypertension.
- Laffin recommends that patients with borderline or uncontrolled high blood pressure at least cut back on alcohol if they’re trying different blood pressure meds or want to treat it with lifestyle changes alone.
We are aware of one systematic review on effects of alcohol on blood pressure https://ecosoberhouse.com/ that was published in 2005 (McFadden 2005). McFadden 2005 included both randomised and non‐randomised studies with a minimum of 24 hours of blood pressure observation after alcohol consumption. This systematic review searched only the MEDLINE database for relevant studies, hence it was not exhaustive. Review authors included nine studies involving a total of 119 participants, and the duration of these studies was between four and seven days. Participants in those studies consumed alcohol regularly during the study period, whereas in our systematic review, we included only studies in which participants consumed alcohol for a short period. Based on nine studies, McFadden 2005 reported that the mean increase in SBP was 2.7 mmHg and in DBP was 1.4 mmHg.
Berg 2005 published data only
Some studies suggest low amounts of alcohol may help reduce blood pressure or risk of heart disease. However, the CDC states these findings may be due to other lifestyle differences between people who drink moderately and those who do not. In general, experts suggest that people with high blood pressure shouldn’t exceed moderate alcohol consumption, which is one drink or less per day for women and two drinks or less per day for men. Conversely, moderate drinking has been repeatedly demonstrated to have potential benefits for patients with diabetes and abnormal lipoprotein profiles. At the same time, some studies suggest that stopping or reducing alcohol intake produces better outcomes for those with high blood pressure or CVD.
Fazio 2004 published data only
In 2005, McFadden and colleagues conducted a systematic review of RCTs, which investigated the haemodynamic effects of daily consumption of alcohol (McFadden 2005). Based on nine RCTs in which participants consumed alcohol repeatedly over days, these review authors reported that alcohol increases SBP by 2.7 mmHg and DBP by 1.4 mmHg. However, they excluded studies for which the duration of BP observation was less than 24 hours and articles published in non‐English languages. We believe that inclusion of those studies will provide useful information about the dose‐related magnitude and time‐course effect of alcohol on blood pressure in people with both normal and elevated blood pressure.
Beilin 1992 published data only
- If a person has concerns that they or someone they know might have a dependency on alcohol, they should seek professional advice and support as soon as they can.
- Because alcohol can cause harmful interactions with different cardiovascular drugs, it’s usually not a good idea to combine alcohol and blood pressure medication.
- Yes, alcohol can raise blood pressure, especially when consumed in excess.
- Excessive alcohol consumption can increase the risk of several metabolic conditions, including high blood pressure.
- A recent study shows the least mortality at 100 g/week or less of alcohol, with a dose-dependent relationship between alcohol and stroke, IHD, fatal hypertensive disease, heart failure, and fatal aortic aneurysm.
Experts reveal how a sip too many might tip the scales on your heart health. Next, learn about the marijuana addiction health dangers of even slightly high blood pressure. One unit of alcohol is around 8g, which is 56kcal or the equivalent calories of one custard cream. Your drink or mixer may also have added sugars, increasing the number of calories it contains.
