While most studies caution on the use of alcohol re blood pressure, here is a curious and interesting finding from a 2005 Greek medical study:

20/10/2005 - Antioxidants in red wine appear to have positive effects on the arteries of people with heart disease, according to a Greek study.

A team from Harokopio University in Athens found that both red wine, and wine that had the alcohol removed, reduced artery stiffness in 15 subjects with coronary artery disease.

This condition - defined stiff arteries - raises blood pressure and puts patients at risk for heart attack.

Because the effects were observed with non-alcoholic wine, the researchers attributed these effects to antioxidants in the red wine.

The double-blind, cross-over study, reported in the September issue of the American Journal of Hypertension (vol 18, issue 9, pp1161-7), also showed that after consuming either 250ml of regular or dealcoholized red wine, patients saw a significant decrease in central systolic blood pressure, the top reading of the blood pressure.

Central systolic blood pressure fell 7.4 mm Hg and 5.4 mm Hg after consumption of red wine and non-alcoholic red wine, respectively.

The mechanisms for the reduction of arterial stiffness are not well understood.

Interesting! :)

Alcohol consumption is a very touchy subject for some. So, just a quick comment. I have been reading up on arterial stiffness as well. Plain grape juice is said to have the exact same beneficial effect on our arteries as does the red wine. Good to know for non-drinkers. It makes sense, as the wine is derived from grapes.
Red wine is an integral part of the Mediterranean diet, which has always been deemed an extremely healthy one and is highly recommended by all. It is not a diet per se, as much as a way of eating. It is a combination of healthy and wholesome foods with a complete avoidance of any processed stuff. There are a number of excellent articles in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition and its archives.

I'd choose a glass of red wine over a glass of grape juice ANY day! :D The only thing that keeps me from having wine often are the extra calories. I got on my flexstepper this morning and could not go longer than maybe a minute before being completely short of breath. That SOB is so frustrating to have to live with! I am supposed to be doing more cardio but am at a loss as to what. I'll try resistance exercises again.

flowergirl

While most studies caution on the use of alcohol re blood pressure, ....

Acp,

While the Greek study may make for interesting reading, the "study" is several years old and only contained 15 subjects. Based on the info you're providing, it is not a statistically significant (meaningful) study.

What's important here, is that many people who have high blood pressure may be taking over the counter medications, supplements, and/or prescription medications which means that alcohol consumption could be very dangerous for them...anyone taking over the counter medications (including aspirin), supplements, and/or rx medications should check with their pharmacist before consuming alcohlol as alcohol can intensify, diminish, or other wise alter the effects of these substances, and can possibly damage the liver and other organs.

The largest study that I have come across that looked at alcohol consumption and high blood pressure, studied 83,947 men and women of three races. Without getting into details, I will say that the study suggested that men and women who drank more than 3 drinks per day had higher systolic and diastolic pressures than men and women who didn't drink even when taking into consideration age, sex, race, smoking, caffeine use, former "heavy" drinking, and weight. Their findings strongly suggested that the regular use of three or more drinks of alcohol per day is a risk factor for hypertension.

I will also say that the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JCN7) also advises reducing/eliminating alcohol consumption, and this is coming from our country's creme de la creme of blood pressure experts.

Let it be known, I am not a tea totaller but enjoy an occasional glass of wine with my meal....but, I am not on medication, and my bp runs 130-115/88-78, at least when I use my cpap, ;) .

Bethsheba

I think the magic phrase here is "3 or more drinks" which would undoubtedly cover most people within the blood pressure bell curve. There are of course people on either end of the curve who either shouldn't drink at all lest their BP shoot through the roof, or folks like my 80 year old dad who can down a bottle of wine and keep his (unmedicated) BP under 120/80 consistently. The decision to imbibe and how much must be made with the best understanding about how your body reacts as you can obtain.

The other obvious caveat is to NOT drink every single day of the week. The Mediterranean diet seems to be limited to about 2 drinks, taken with meals. FYI I have spent a LOT of time in Europe, and have NEVER witnessed "binge drinking" In France, Italy, or Greece, but have in UK, Holland, and Germany. I would be willing to be that the latter three countries have higher incidences of hypertension then the former three.

acp

The other obvious caveat is to NOT drink every single day of the week. The Mediterranean diet seems to be limited to about 2 drinks, taken with meals. FYI I have spent a LOT of time in Europe, and have NEVER witnessed "binge drinking" In France, Italy, or Greece, but have in UK, Holland, and Germany. I would be willing to be that the latter three countries have higher incidences of hypertension then the former three.

The last three countries mentioned are not a part of the Mediterranean. Their diet is as different from the Mediterranean one as it can possibly be. So are their drinking habits, as you pointed out. Hypertension has become a worldwide problem. It's not limited to specific countries. Nowadays, most families (in Europe) have both parents working, leaving a limited amount of time for preparation of good, healthy food in the evenings. You must have noticed a lot of prepared foods in their markets as well. It is the old folks who eat healthy as they have the time to cook. People buy the frozen/pre-cooked stuff and use it because of the time constraints. As here, it is just loaded with sodium and fats. Which leads to hypertension and heart disease, independent of any alcohol consumption. Beth made a few good points in her post. Alcohol is also a frequent topic for discussion on the cholesterol board. When it comes to alcohol consumption in hypertensives, the main thing is to cut down on the number of drinks for those who drink too much (or eliminate alcohol completely, if enough willpower). Surely everyone knows that alcohol and medications don't mix. Unfortunately, some people on medication do not care.

I don't see how an occassional glass of wine could cause much harm, unless taken with medication and thus countering its effects. I take most of my meds in the morning. A glass of wine with supper at 5:30 should be perfectly fine if I feel so inclined. The few meds I take at bedtime (10:30-11:00) should not be affected by the wine in any way by then. However, with reduced physical activity due to exercise intolerance, every calorie counts. So a glass of wine remains an occassional treat.

Which country is your favorite and why? :)

flowergirl

I never suggested that Germany, UK, or Holland were part of the Mediterranean. My point was that they were NOT, and compared to Greece, Italy, and France (which are Mediterranean countries), binge drinking is a real problem in northern Europe.

And as you pointed out, its not alcohol per se, but the fact that processed foods are making such a huge impact. The Mediterranean diet allows for wine, and I would bet that hypertension levels are lower in those countries than in northern Europe, where binge drinking is common.

What I noticed, in addition to all the prepared foods, was that levels of stress are higher in other countries as well; its not just the US that is the "rat race" now. My guess is the stress of trying to get ahead and stay ahead in a globally competitive world, is doing way more damage to cardiovascular systems then a couple glasses of wine!

Related to this, is the fact that social bonds are more strained too in other countries; fewer families and close friendships now, then what I observed 20 years ago when I first started traveling globally.

acp

I totally agree. I do think that there's more awareness of these issues and more imaginative attempts to deal with them in Europe. Sometimes incentives are used. The use of natural products is promoted. A lot of good studies are carried out there, too. There was a very recent conference held in Vienna. Interesting stuff coming out of there. They really stay on top of things. Their health care systems are top notch and much more user friendly and FAIR. We had a several part documentary report on health care in Europe shown on one of our TV networks a couple of years ago. No matter which country they went to, the efficiency of systems in place was simply amazing, and health care was accessible to all in a very timely manner. I sure was jelous, remembering how long my husband had had to wait for his scan (about 13 months). Oh well.
Stress is a huge problem in today's world and impossible to completely avoid. I guess the best approach is finding ways to minimize its effect on ones' health. Some people deal with stress by consuming more alcohol, thus compounding the problem.

The difficulty with BP is figuring out WHAT affects it, and how for each individual. Yes stress is a killer, a big one. But I still remember when I lost my wallet and had a meltdown...ran and took my BP, and it was 126/75! But put the cuff on, and it shoots up 20 points past that! For many people "stress" elevates BP, period. For others, certain KINDS of stress, which is why IMO "white coat hypertension" in some people is very specific...the ONLY stress that raises their BP is getting it checked, but in others, WCH may indicate that other stressors affect it as well. It is very confusing, and up to each individual to figure it out for themselves.

Similarly "hereditity." Is it in your genes, or did your parents/siblings have high BP because they had bad lifestyles? Separating that out, again, is confusing as all hell!

acp

I recently came across some information that I thought might be of interest to those reading this thread:

1. Excessive alcohol consumption increases ones risk for developing hypertension.

2. Excessive alcohol consumpion increases the flow of adrenaline which causes blood pressure to rise (adrenaline narrows the blood vessels which means the heart has to pump harder).

3. For purposes of controlling blood pressure, alcohol consumption should be limited to 2 drinks/day for men and 1 drink/day for women (if it isn't eliminated entirely.) Examples of "one drink" include: 1-1 1/2 oz of 80-proof or 1 oz of 100-proof whiskey, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 oz of beer

4. Alcohol consumption reduces the effectiveness of bp medication.

I would like to point out that the "definition" of excessive use of alcohol above is for the purpose of hypertension only. Professionals in the alcohol dependency fields identify "problem" drinking by frequency, behavior, and other factors in addition to amount consumed. In other words, one doesn't have to be a binge drinker nor does one have to be drunk in order to be a problem drinker. I wouldn't mention this except the acceptable limits for alcohol consumption and high blood pressure, may be higher than those for problem drinkers....different conditions, different health concerns/problems.

Bethsheba