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If you have high blood pressure, it means that either your systolic or diastolic number is elevated above normal levels. By not drinking too much, you can reduce the risk of these short- and long-term health risks. Those who cut back to moderate drinking can lower their top number in a blood pressure reading by about 2-4 millimeters of mercury and their bottom number by about 1-2 mm Hg. For most people with hypertension, there are no obvious signs or symptoms.
This effect, combined with the increased effects of blood pressure medicine, can lead to drops in blood pressure that can cause dizziness or even make you pass out. Alcohol is difficult for the body to process and adds stress to the liver. The liver must divert its resources to metabolizing alcohol, making it process other medicines more slowly.
Are There Any Possible Health Benefits of Alcohol Consumption?
Detoxis the process of a substance being metabolized and removed from the body. Alcohol detox may cause mild to severe symptoms, depending on how long a person used alcohol and how much how does alcohol affect your blood pressure they tended to drink. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations.
- If you think you or someone you know is experiencing any symptoms of an overdose, it is imperative that you get emergency medical help right away.
- This can cause you to develop an irregular heartbeat, called atrial fibrillation, which can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure.
- Accordingly, we considered up to 14 g of alcohol as a low dose of alcohol.
- As a result, the body overcompensates by releasing more vasopressin, which can cause an increase in blood pressure.
- One of the long-term effects of alcohol on your heart is alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
- In this study, alcohol had no significant effect on DBP in the four groups.
People who drink heavily should talk to their doctor about how alcohol is impacting their blood pressure. Drinking temporarily lowers a person’s blood pressure right after drinking. In a recent study by The Recovery Village, 44% of respondents reported abusing alcohol in an attempt to ease uncomfortable feelings that stem from underlying anxiety. Medically Reviewed By Nanci Stockwell, LCSW, MBAA licensed behavioral health or medical professional on The Recovery Village Editorial Team has analyzed and confirmed every statistic, study and medical claim on this page.
Puddey 1985a published data only
Additionally, low blood pressure is usually not a long-term health problem like high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a silent killer that can lead to heart attack, stroke and other deadly diseases. Drinking alcohol can affect weight loss attempts because alcoholic beverages are often high in calories and low in nutritional value.
