While most people will experience some symptoms of withdrawal when they stop drinking, some may experience more severe symptoms. Understanding the link between alcohol and high blood pressure is just one piece of the wellness puzzle. Sometimes, that also means seeking out resources and support systems for overall well-being. If you’re concerned about hypertension – or are already affected and trying to make lifestyle changes – you might be looking into additional avenues that can ease the journey toward better health. If you want to reduce the amount of alcohol you’re consuming, take a look at how the CDC describes moderate and heavy drinking. Sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes a person to stop and restart breathing several times throughout the night, is one of the unusual causes of high blood pressure.
Alcoholic Hepatitis: Spot The Signs, Reclaim Your Health
Eliminating alcohol from your diet can produce dramatic improvements in your blood pressure control within just a few weeks. Regular alcohol consumption triggers your sympathetic nervous system, which controls your fight-or-flight response. This temporary effect can actually lower your blood pressure for a few hours after drinking.
American Heart Association logo
Consuming alcohol in excess over a prolonged period can also cause or exacerbate other conditions. Excessive salt intake is another major contributor to high blood pressure. Sodium causes your body to retain water, which increases the volume of blood in your arteries and raises blood pressure. When you have a drink, alcohol causes your blood vessels to relax and widen—at first. You may already be watching your salt, taking your meds, and can alcohol raise your blood pressure getting your steps in—but what about that glass of wine with dinner?
Seek Alcohol Rehab at Dove Recovery To Help Improve Your Mental and Physical Health
When blood pressure decreases, these receptors help minimize how much the blood vessels stretch to increase blood pressure. Similarly, when blood pressure increases, these receptors increase the stretching of the blood vessel walls in order to decrease blood pressure. Dr. Azadeh Beheshtian is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both cardiovascular disease and internal medicine. Her expertise lies in interventional cardiology and peripheral artery disease, with a special emphasis on women’s heart health. Along with her surgical skills, she prioritizes collaborating with patients to prevent serious cardiac or vascular incidents. Her method involves creating carefully tailored care plans aimed at optimizing patient health outcomes.
Heavy drinking creates a cascade of problems that directly impact your blood pressure control. Share your experiences with alcohol and blood pressure monitoring in the comments below, and let me know if you have questions about managing your readings effectively. People with existing high blood pressure experience more dramatic spikes, sometimes reaching dangerous levels that require immediate medical attention.
Unmatched Addiction Care in Colorado.
- That fourth drink at the bar may feel like it’s relaxing you, but it’s actually affecting your body differently than you might think.
- Women should be especially cautious about alcohol, Goldberg says, as they may be more likely than men to develop health problems, particularly among young or middle-aged women who have eight or more drinks a week.
- In 2022 (when the latest data is available), 99 percent of the global population lived in places where air quality didn’t meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
We are also moderately certain that high‐dose alcohol decreased blood pressure within six hours, and the effect lasted up to 12 hours. Heart rate increased significantly after alcohol consumption and remained increased at all times measured. We are moderately certain that medium‐dose alcohol decreased blood pressure and increased heart rate within six hours of consumption. We did not see any significant change in blood pressure or heart rate after that, but the evidence was limited. For low doses of alcohol, we found that one glass of alcohol had little to no effect on blood pressure and increased heart rate within six hours of drinking.
Alcohol can affect the metabolism of these drugs, making them less effective, or potentially leading to dangerous medication interactions. If you are on medication for hypertension, the co-use of alcohol could be playing havoc with your treatment plan, heroin addiction undercutting its efficacy. The impact of alcohol on blood pressure often depends on the amount consumed.