After ≥ 13 hours of consumption, SBP and DBP were raised; the certainty of evidence was low and medium, respectively. Ratings of the certainty of evidence ranged from moderate to low in this review, which suggests that the effect estimates of alcohol might be slightly different than the true effects. For high doses of alcohol, we found moderate‐certainty evidence showing a drug addiction treatment decrease in SBP and low‐certainty evidence suggesting a decrease in DBP within the first six hours and 7 to 12 hours after consumption.
O’Malley 2014 published data only
Cutting back on alcohol also reduces the risk of related health issues, such as stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. We did not consider the lack of blinding of participants as a downgrading factor for certainty of evidence because we do not think that it affected the outcomes of this systematic review. Changes in blood pressure and heart rate after alcohol consumption were not the primary outcomes of interest in most of the included studies.
Increased Risk of Hypertension
This systematic review provides us with a better understanding of the time‐course of alcohol’s acute effects on blood pressure and heart rate. This review included only short‐term randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of alcohol on blood pressure and heart rate. Acute alcohol consumption mimics the pattern of social drinking, and evidence indicates that even one glass of an alcoholic drink can increase heart rate.
Cheyne 2004 published data only
- High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a leading cause of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases, and the relationship between blood pressure and alcohol consumption is a key factor to consider.
- We also checked the lists of references in the included studies and articles that cited the included studies in Google Scholar to identify relevant articles.
- Both ST and CT independently assessed studies for inclusion or exclusion and assessed the risk of bias of all included studies.
- “If you have high blood pressure, it’s probably in your best interest to drink minimally,” Morledge said.
- “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.
- When they become impaired by alcohol intake, the body might not respond as effectively to changes in blood pressure, leading to persistent high blood pressure.
There is a very clear link between regularly drinking too much alcohol and having high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure (hypertension) puts strain on the heart muscle and can lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD), which increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. We also found moderate‐certainty evidence showing that alcohol raises HR within the first six hours of consumption, regardless of the dose of alcohol.
- Hypertension is rising in prevalence due to the rising mean age of the population as well as due to the increased prevalence of poor dietary patterns and other lifestyle factors.
- Swapping some of your usual alcoholic drinks for a tasty non-alcoholic option is an easy way to cut back.
- Systolic blood pressure is the pressure in a person’s arteries when their heart beats.
- You may even notice a high blood pressure reading the day after drinking, if you check your blood pressure at home.
- Alcohol can affect drinkers differently based on their age, sex, ethnicity, family history, and liver condition (Cederbaum 2012; Chen 1999; Gentry 2000; Thomasson 1995).
Is Your High Blood Pressure Under Control?
- Alcohol withdrawal reverses the adverse impact of alcohol on endothelial function, with rapid normalization of the BP.
- However, other research also suggests that alcohol increases blood pressure.
- We classified seven studies as having unclear risk of performance bias (Bau 2005; Bau 2011; Cheyne 2004; Dumont 2010; Karatzi 2005; Mahmud 2002; Maule 1993).
- However, people who are dependent on alcohol or have been misusing alcohol for a long period of time may have difficulty quitting.
- We do not think participants were anticipating any significant influence on blood pressure or heart rate after drinking.
Whether you drink alcohol occasionally, regularly, or engage in binge drinking, understanding the impact of blood pressure alcohol levels is critical for your overall health. We planned on conducting sensitivity analyses on studies based on their level of risk of bias (high‐risk studies versus low‐risk studies). Most of the included studies had similar risk of bias across all domains except https://ecosoberhouse.com/ for performance bias and detection bias, for which risk arises from blinding of participants, personnel, and outcome assessors. So, we decided to conduct a sensitivity analysis of the included studies based on the blinding condition (Table 7).
- When you drink alcohol, it can lead to an increase in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) excitability.
- For low doses of alcohol, we found low‐certainty evidence suggesting that SBP, DBP, and MAP fall within the first six hours after alcohol consumption.
- A person who has hypertension should avoid consuming too much caffeine or soda.
- The more heavily you drink, the higher your blood pressure will be, and vice versa.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines light drinking as three drinks or fewer per week and moderate drinking as no more than one drink per day for women and up to two per day for men. Over two billion people drink, with the highest per capita consumption does alcohol lower bp in the European Union (EU). People who drink regularly consume a mean of 33 g of anhydrous alcohol per day, with beer being the most common alcoholic beverage. If you’re generally healthy and under 40 years old, you should have your blood pressure checked every two to five years.
Saito 2003 published data only
Among the 32 included studies, only four studies included hypertensive participants (Kawano 1992; Kawano 2000; Kojima 1993; Foppa 2002). So, it was not appropriate to conduct a separate meta‐analysis based on that population. Dumont 2010, Karatzi 2013, Kawano 1992, and Williams 2004 reported reasons for participant withdrawal and excluded their data from the final analysis. Data were balanced across groups, hence missing data did not affect the final results. It is important to note that 2 out of 19 studies were single‐blinded (Agewall 2000; Karatzi 2013). Personnel were blinded instead of participants in Karatzi 2013, and neither personnel nor participants were blinded in Agewall 2000, so we assessed these studies as having high risk of bias.