Will Alcohol Raise Blood Pressure? Understanding the Risks and Effects

When your blood pressure is high, your heart must pump harder to move blood through your body, and the constant pressure wears down your blood vessels over time. If left untreated, this can lead to serious problems like heart attacks, strokes or even heart failure. The new report released on August 14 highlights that both systolic and diastolic blood pressure tend to rise with continued alcohol use. Consider your current blood pressure readings, the medications you take, your family history of cardiovascular disease, and your ability to stick to true moderate consumption. If you already have high blood pressure, even moderate drinking can interfere with your blood pressure medications and make drug addiction treatment your condition harder to control. Medical guidelines define moderate drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.

What Alcohol Does to Your Blood Vessels

However, the impact of alcohol on the body is complex, especially regarding its effect on blood pressure. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, while extremely low blood pressure can also create immediate health concerns. Understanding how alcohol influences blood pressure is essential for anyone interested in maintaining or improving cardiovascular health.

Can drinking raise my blood pressure?

• Sleep helps your body regulate hormones, and high BP can be caused by the fluctuation in hormone levels due to a lack of sleep.
• “People who don’t get six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep can have elevated blood pressure,” says Luke Laffin, M.D., codirector of the Center for Blood Pressure Disorders at the Cleveland Clinic.
• Moderate to heavy drinking can quickly add calories to your daily intake, contributing to weight gain.
• Alcohol’s effects on blood pressure are complex; it can cause an initial decrease followed by a rebound increase hours later, and it raises heart rate, stressing the cardiovascular system.
• While additional studies are needed, researchers do not recommend drinking wine or other forms of alcohol to promote heart health.

However, even moderate drinking can cause temporary increases in blood pressure readings. 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, as well as vision loss and kidney disease. They can sustain high blood pressure, weaken the heart muscle leading to conditions like alcoholic cardiomyopathy, and damage blood vessels. These effects amplify the risk of cardiovascular events, including strokes and heart attacks. While moderate drinking may have some benefits for certain individuals, the risks of excessive consumption far outweigh any potential rewards.

How does alcohol impact blood pressure acutely versus over the long term?

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. The best step to take next, if you are considering reducing your alcohol use, is to make an appointment to see a doctor who is knowledgeable about helping people to reduce alcohol intake with medical treatment. Together, systolic and diastolic numbers are combined to indicate a blood pressure reading. 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.

On the other hand, heavy drinkers—those who consume more than three drinks per day—are at a much higher risk of developing hypertension. The more alcohol you consume, the greater the strain on your cardiovascular system. Chronic alcohol use can lead to sustained high blood pressure, which, if left unmanaged, can result in serious health risks, including heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease.

The risks of such behavior go far beyond a temporary spike in blood pressure. Yes, reducing alcohol consumption can help lower blood pressure, particularly if you’ve been drinking heavily or regularly. Research shows that individuals who reduce their alcohol intake to recommended levels (one drink a day for women and two for men) often see a reduction in both their systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings. Cutting back on alcohol also reduces the risk of related health issues, such as stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. Heavy or repeated binge drinking puts stress on blood vessel walls, causing them to narrow.

Alcohol Poisoning: Signs, Symptoms & Treatments

And sure, we’ve all had a night here or there where we’ve had one too many and we know it. But it’s important to make sure those nights of overindulgence are the exception and not the rule. If you’re not sure, make a note to tune into how much you’re having over the course of the next month or so. If it’s more than recommended, try to consciously pace your drinking to help reduce the spike in your blood pressure that excessive alcohol causes. On average, a regular heart rate is about 60 to 100 beats per minute when your body is at rest. But alcohol can lead can alcohol raise your blood pressure 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.

American Heart Association Launches Remote…

Interestingly, the effects of alcohol are not necessarily relaxing, as far as the brain and body are concerned. While a person is able to overcome inhibitions and act in ways they would not normally act while sober, they are not relaxed. When a person enters a loud, busy bar or nightclub, they are often overcome with a stress reaction. Crowded, loud drinking establishments, blasting loud music, and people shouting to be heard only adds to the stress level. Since your body has become accustomed to functioning with alcohol for a prolonged period, the sudden absence of it can throw your body out of balance and trigger an array of withdrawal symptoms.

The same is true of a person who has blackouts from drinking heavily, or if they drink in the morning to chase away a hangover. If a person is told by their doctor that alcohol is damaging their liver, and they still cannot quit, there is likely an alcohol addiction problem. There are people who face serious consequences from drinking over the long-term, and they are still not able to easily quit. People are different in how their bodies work and how they respond to changes in their health status. For example, if a person starts walking 30 minutes daily, they may notice immediate improvements in blood sugar or blood pressure. If you or a loved one is ready to overcome alcohol addiction, reach out to Futures Recovery Healthcare.

And, in fact, the study also showed that drinking one or fewer drinks per day was related to the lowest likelihood of dying from a stroke. However, Dr. Cho points out that more recent data shows that there may be no amount of alcohol that is truly safe. “The myth that wine is beneficial for heart health is no longer true,” she states. It can interfere with the effectiveness of blood pressure medications, reducing their ability to control hypertension effectively.

• Yes, reducing alcohol consumption can help lower blood pressure, particularly if you’ve been drinking heavily or regularly.
• While drinking alcohol initially relaxes and widens your blood vessels, lowering your blood pressure, it’s only temporary, and your vessels start to constrict once your liver metabolizes it.
• Adrenaline and other hormones generated during stressful situations, however, can raise blood pressure by quickening the heartbeat and constricting blood vessels.
• It can also interfere with the body’s natural blood pressure regulation by impacting hormonal balances and increasing levels of cortisol and adrenaline.

Let’s not forget the emotional and psychological toll that chronic heavy drinking can exact. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders often accompany long-term heavy drinking. This creates a vicious cycle where mental stress leads to higher blood pressure, which then gets exacerbated by alcohol consumption.

Research shows that people who drink regularly have consistently higher blood pressure readings than those who abstain completely. If you have hypertension, you should avoid drinking alcohol or at least consume it in moderation. For additional concerns, do not hesitate to ask your doctor about the amount of alcohol that would be fine for you. Research suggests that the following effects of alcohol on the body can cause high blood pressure.