Even a small amount can affect important functions like speech and movement. Drinking very large amounts all at once can slow your heart rate and breathing down to a dangerously low level. There’s not currently a recommended amount of alcohol for people with hypertension since this can vary from person alcohol lowers blood pressure to person. You and your doctor can make an individualized treatment plan to lower your blood pressure and address your alcohol use. According to a 2020 literature review, clinicians are not completely sure why alcohol raises blood pressure. Read more about the causes and risk factors of high blood pressure.

Evidence before this study

• If you have alcoholic cardiomyopathy, stopping drinking can lead to improvement or even recovery for many.
• Heart rate increased significantly after alcohol consumption and remained increased at all times measured.
• Researchers looked at data from over 19,500 participants, allowing for vast information collection.
• If acontrol group in a parallel-group trial reported a reduction in alcoholconsumption, we included it as a “reduction of alcohol” group.Estimates of intervention effects by sex were preferred.
• If you’re overweight or have obesity, losing even a small amount of weight can help lower blood pressure.

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article. 1835 participants with hypertension based on ACC/AHA 2017 guidelines in three most recent follow-up exams of the longitudinal Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults cohort study (2005–2016). Adjusted repeated-measures analyses using generalized estimating equations and mediation analyses using inverse odds ratio weighting. Research has not proven that wine is linked to lowering blood pressure, says James Beckerman, MD, a cardiologist at the Providence St. Vincent Heart Clinic in Portland, OR. Individuals who do not experience withdrawal symptoms will likely see the positive effects of giving up alcohol shortly after doing so. However, people who are dependent on alcohol or have been misusing alcohol for a long period of time may have difficulty quitting.

Health Categories to Explore

• You can break your aerobic workout into three 10-minute sessions.
• Eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and low in saturated fat and cholesterol can lower high blood pressure by up to 11 mm Hg.
• “When consumed in excess, any type of alcohol, including red wine, is going to affect blood pressure,” she adds.

The heart-protective potential of red wine is believed to be partially due to its high concentration of plant compounds called polyphenols, especially resveratrol. This antioxidant, found in grape skins, may prevent inflammation and clogged arteries by reducing the oxidation of harmful LDL cholesterol. Medications such as statins that act directly on the liver can cause further damage when combined with alcohol. Those who drink regularly and consume more than the lower risk guidelines are likely to be advised to cut down or stop drinking completely. If you drink regularly, you might feel like alcohol doesn’t affect you as much, but this usually means you’ve developed a tolerance to some of the effects.

Risks and Negative Effects of Alcohol

Heavier drinking (binge drinking) can also bring on a first episode of arrhythmia; once this has happened for the first time, you’re at an increased risk in the future. If you have developed any complications of high blood pressure or alcohol intake, your doctor can also help you manage them as well. In some cases, moderate to high levels of alcohol may cause blood pressure to rise. That’s because alcohol (of any kind) constricts or tightens the muscles that surround your arteries. “When those muscles tighten, it leads to an increase in blood pressure,” says Dr. Desai. Drinking regularly can also contribute to unhealthy weight gain, which can make your blood pressure go up, too, per the Mayo Clinic.

Similarly, when blood pressure increases, these receptors increase the stretching of the blood vessel walls in order to decrease blood pressure. Alcohol increases blood levels of the hormone renin, which causes the blood vessels to constrict. Renin also decreases how much fluid the body eliminates as urine. Additionally, doses of over 240 mL were also able to reduce diastolic blood pressure. Diastolic blood pressure is the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats. Blood pressure is the pressure the blood exerts as it pushes against the artery walls.

Figure 2: Change in systolic blood pressure by alcohol consumption at baseline, all

Researchers qualify moderate drinking as 7–13 drinks per week. Studies have shown that excessive alcohol consumption can worsen blood pressure levels. If you have high blood pressure, it’s best to reduce your alcohol intake. 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. A 2023 report found that drinking too much alcohol regularly, exceeding 30 grams per day, can significantly increase the risk of developing high blood pressure. According to a recent analysis by the American Heart Association (AHA), the more alcoholic drinks you have each day, the higher your systolic blood pressure tends to be.

When the SNS is stimulated or “activated” due to stress or alcohol intake, it works harder than usual. As you age, your blood pressure tends to increase due to changes in your arteries and cardiovascular system structure. Regular monitoring can help manage blood pressure and hypertension as you age.

Data extraction

On average, a regular heart rate is about 60 to 100 beats per minute when your body is at rest. But alcohol can lead to your heart rate temporarily jumping up in speed, and if it goes over 100 beats per minute, it can cause a condition called tachycardia. Too many episodes of tachycardia could lead to more serious issues like heart failure or going into irregular rhythms, which can cause heart attack and stroke. Completely refraining from consuming alcohol lowers the risk of some of the health risks listed above. Although some of those effects can occur without alcohol consumption, avoiding alcohol helps decrease the risks. This combination of higher fluid levels in the body and smaller blood vessels increases blood pressure.

Benefits Recommended For You

• Having higher levels of catecholamines causes the body to excrete less fluid through urine.
• All condition, treatment and wellness content is medically reviewed by at least one medical professional ensuring the most accurate information possible.
• Regular monitoring can help manage blood pressure and hypertension as you age.
• Drinking alcohol to excess can cause other serious health conditions, such as cardiomyopathy (where the heart muscle is damaged and can’t work as efficiently as it used to) and arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms).

Alcohol can temporarily increase your heart rate, and it doesn’t take much for it to happen. Just one drink was found to raise a person’s heart rate by an average of five beats per minute over a six-hour period, per the Cochrane review. Binge drinking, especially long term, can have a more significant effect. “There is an elevated risk not only of increased heart rate, but of an irregular heart rhythm, including conditions like atrial fibrillation,” says Dr. Desai. It’s true that alcohol, whether you have high blood pressure or not, will temporarily increase your blood pressure levels. And over time, if you drink more than one to two drinks per day, you increase your risk of hypertension that needs to be treated, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

How much exercise do you need?

You can reduce hypertension by reducing your alcohol intake and following the treatment plan that your doctor recommends. One of the most appropriate ways to reduce alcohol-induced high blood pressure is to reduce your alcohol intake as much as possible. For example, some people who intake a large amount of alcohol may not show signs of high blood pressure. On the other hand, even people who do not drink can develop high blood pressure for other reasons.