Alcohol and Blood Pressure

[Tamsin]

Ok I know this has been talked about before but I'm still confused.

How and when does alcohol raise pressure? Alcohol seems to have a bad reputation for raising blood pressure, but then lately some doctors are actually prescribing small quantities to lower blood pressure.

Does it depend on the person? If you are stressed out and a little alcohol relaxes you, then is that when it is OK?

The mechanics of alcohol suggest a relaxing of the sytem, which logically should lower pressure. I once had an MD tell me that alcohol raises pressure during the elimination process; I guess if you have too much the body fights too hard and that raises blood pressure. But wouldn't this process be the same for everyone? Why do doctors now prescribe alcohol?

I'm asking because as I become increasingly frustrated with finding the right drug regimen, I'm trying to focus more on diet/lifestyle which means examining every thing I eat or drink.

TIA!

[WYSIWYG]

My first reaction is that it sounds like a sick, twiseted versioin of the disclaimer on all BP meds: "Your doc has prescribed this because he feels the potential benefit to your health outweighs the chances of side effects blah blah blah...."

And we tend to find that statement rational, as people who actually have to take the damn things?


Like, contributing to alcoholism is an OK side effect?

Like, using alcohol to self-medicate is OK?

Love to see what substance-abuse treatment profressionals have to say on this one!


Funny thing, as far as I can recollect the only people who ever tell me a glass of wine will do me some good are------ alcoholics or children thereof! Yes, I know there are actually some beneficial substances in these products (I've seen the research too), but innit odd the only strong recommendations tend to come from imbibers???

~Susan

[tfkeel]

These are two good short articles on the subject from Mayo Clinic -

[url]http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-pressure/AN00318[/url]

[url]http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol/SC00024[/url]

[Tamsin]

Originally Posted by tfkeel

These are two good short articles on the subject from Mayo Clinic -

[url]http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-pressure/AN00318[/url]

[url]http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol/SC00024[/url]

tfkeel,

Can you summarize? Those links don't seem to by any good anymore.

Thanks!

[tfkeel]

cut-and-paste: From [url]http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-pressure/AN00318[/url]

Excessive alcohol use can raise your blood pressure to an unhealthy level. Heavy drinkers who cut back to moderate drinking can lower their systolic blood pressure by two to four points and their diastolic pressure by one to two points.

If you have high blood pressure, avoid alcohol or drink it in moderation. Moderate drinking is two drinks a day if you're a man younger than age 65 or one drink a day if you're a woman or older than age 65. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1 ounce of 100-proof whiskey.

Keep in mind that alcoholic drinks are often high in calories and may contribute to unwanted weight gain. Also, alcohol can interfere with the effectiveness of some blood pressure medications and increase their side effects.