June Russell's Health Facts

One in four Americans has high blood pressure, and those over 60, one in two.
{Reader’s Digest, Jan. 1996}

Beside the 50 million that have high blood pressure, another 30 million have borderline blood pressure readings. Simple lifestyle changes could go a long way to controlling hypertension without medications. Don't rely on alcohol.
{Harvey B. Simone, MD, Harvard Medical School, author of “Conquering Heart Disease”}

Nearly one-third of Americans who have high blood pressure are unaware of it, which puts them at an increased risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.
{HealthCentral.com, June 2000}

Chronic (regular) alcohol consumption can lead to high blood pressure/hypertension. In fact, it is the third largest cause of high blood pressure, even more than smoking!
{“What are some of the impacts of alcohol on society?” www.fact-index.com, 2004}

How Alcohol Affects Blood Pressure

Alcohol seems to interfere with the liver’s ability to metabolize hormones, such as renin and angiotensin, which are important for maintaining blood pressure control. There is also some evidence that alcohol interferes with steroid production which is instrumental in maintaining blood pressure.
{Washington Post Health, Feb. 10, 1987}

Reduce or eliminate alcohol, as regular alcohol use correlates with elevated blood pressure. Alcohol taxes the liver and reduces the ability to detoxify blood, thus causing more oxidizing and damaging substances to remain in circulation where they can harm blood vessels. Further, if the liver is busy processing alcohol, it is less able to process fats, leading to elevated cholesterol levels. If the liver becomes congested, stagnation in the portal veins, those that deliver blood to the liver, can increase blood pressure in all other vessels downstream.
{JAMA 1985 study in Nutrition Science News, Mar. 1999}

Studies suggest that regular consumption of alcohol raises blood pressure during the hours that alcohol is not consumed, and can reduce magnesium levels which can increase blood pressure.
{U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services in their 10th Report to Congress on Alcohol and Health, 2000}

The Archives of Internal Medicine (Feb. 2001) reported that the systolic blood pressure (the higher number) is increased by intake of alcohol, while diastolic blood pressure was reduced by alcohol intake.
{nutritionnewsfocus.com - Aug. 2001}  Editor's comment: The study has limited accuracy because this survey only covered the diets of the 17,000 adults for the previous 24 hours. This is how the media can manipulate figures and report that blood pressure is reduced by the use of alcohol.

Alcohol consumption at any level tends to raise blood pressure, the effect appearing at the lowest levels of intake and increasing with the amount consumed. Considered alone, this must be presumed to increase the risk of diseases associated with raised blood pressure, such as heart attack and stroke. The consumption of alcohol can contribute to being overweight, which is a cardiovascular risk factor.
{“Alcohol and cardiovascular disease,” Heart Foundation, Oct. 2003}

Effect of Small Amounts of Alcohol

Two studies conducted in the department of social and environmental medicine at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan have shown that even a very low alcohol consumption can be a health risk for many — almost one in every four Americans. More than 17,000 people in the U.S. die from high blood pressure complications. Hypertension can cause stroke, heart disease and kidney failure.
{“Drinking alcohol and blood pressure: even small amounts can increase hypertension, alcoholism.about.com, from Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research}

Circulation

A study in the journal “Circulation” found that alcohol can impair the body’s ability to maintain a steady blood pressure. After drinking alcohol, people have wider blood vessels and lower blood pressure, and these changes impair the body’s ability to pump fresh blood to the brain, says Dr. Virend K. Somers, a co-author of the study. As a result, drinkers who suddenly stood up often felt lightheaded and sometimes fainted.
{HealthCentral.com - May 2000}

High blood pressure causes changes in brain blood flow that affect short-term memory.
{Betty Kamen's Table Talk Hint and HealthCentral.com, Sep. 2001}

Heart Disease and Stroke

Moderate alcohol intake may directly affect coronary artery diameter and coronary blood flow.
{Seventh Special Report to Congress, 1991}

Hypertension can be triggered by alcohol consumption. There is some evidence that people who completely abstain from alcohol have a lower risk of heart disease, another stroke risk factor, than do moderate drinkers.
{American Heart Association, “Family Guide to Stroke,” 1994}

Both alcohol use and stress appear to increase blood pressure, in addition, stress is associated with increased alcohol use. When stressed, a person is motivated to drink in an effort to cope with negative feelings, which in turn are made worse by alcohol use. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were higher among daily drinkers than those who drank only once a week, which significantly increased risk of stroke and coronary disease.
{Russell et al. 1991}
{“Alcohol Research and Health,” Journal of the NIAAA, Department of Health and Human Services, 1999}

Lowering blood pressure can reduce the chance of stroke by as much as a third (ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke}
{Published in July 2000 in JAMA - five year study of 4,736 older men and women - HealthCentral.com}

High blood pressure raises the risk for stroke and heart disease. One recent study linked it to Alzheimer’s, too.
{“Simple Ways to Curb Memory Loss and Preserve Brain power,” Bottom Line Health newsletter, April 2001}

Younger men should be just as concerned about high blood pressure as middle-aged and older men because it puts them at significant risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes later in life, says a study from Northwestern University Medical School study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
{"Study: High blood pressure increases risk later in life," The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia newspaper, June 25, 2001}

Reducing the national systolic blood pressure (the higher of the two numbers) would lower rates of heart failure by at least 25 percent. Among patients with hypertension, a 10 mm drop in systolic pressure can cut the risk of heart failure in half. Heart failure affects 4.8 million Americans and kills nearly 290,000 a year. Heart failure begins when the pump can’t efficiently move blood to the kidneys, which then retain salt and water.
{“One in Five Develops Heart Failure,” healthscout.com - Nov. 2002}  Author’s comment: Alcohol raises blood pressure and depresses the heart’s ability to pump (see Alcohol - Heart). It is estimated that one in four Americans has high blood pressure, but a third do not know it and therefore are unaware that alcohol use could be a contributing factor.

Mini-strokes that often go undetected, may play an important role in the development of dementia. Over a thousand people were screened in 1995, and then again four years later. Although none had Alzheimer’s at the start of the study, those who experienced symptom-less blood clots in the brain were twice as likely to experience steep cognitive declines. Such mini-strokes may be both more common and more damaging than previously recognized. Controlling blood pressure, and preventing blood clots with low dose aspirin may turn out to be valuable tools in maintaining vascular health and brain function.
{Graedon’s People’s Pharmacy, Mar. 29, 2003, Public Radio}

Kidney Disease

High blood pressure is a serious medical problem, but unchecked high blood pressure may also put you in danger of developing kidney disease.
{Healthology Kidney Health Focus, Jai Radhakrishnan, MD, and Leonard Stern, MD, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons}

High blood pressure can lead to heart or kidney disease and is the biggest risk factor for stroke. Some patients can prevent or control high blood pressure by changes in diet or habits , by losing weight, and by restricting sodium and alcohol.
{“Controlling High Blood Pressure,” March 28, 1995 Washington Post Health}
“Getting blood pressure down could reduce headaches.”
{HealthCentral.com, June 20, 2000}

Depressive Effect of Alcohol

Alcohol will increase your blood pressure and research has proven that alcohol tends to reduce patient responsiveness to drug therapy. Having a drink may relax you temporarily, but because alcohol is a nervous-system depressant, it can end up making you feel anxious and depressed. Exercise is a better relaxant.
{The New Pritikin Program, 1988}

Because of its depressive effect, alcohol at first lowers blood pressure, which then rebounds to higher than normal levels, along with heart rate and body temperature.
{Intelligent Medicine, book by Ronald Hoffman, MD, 1997}

Vision

High blood pressure is linked to vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration(AMD}
{“High Blood Pressure Linked to Vision Loss,” Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, and June 2000 in “Taste for Life” magazine, Nov. 2000}

Because of the relationship between vascular and retinal health, it is not surprising that high blood pressure might threaten vision. Increased blood pressure can cause small blood vessels to burst and bleed into the retina. Studies have shown that high blood pressure in people with diabetes increases the risk of diabetic retinopathy, diseased retinas in people with diabetes.
{"What You Can Do to Protect Your Eyes," Harvard Health Letter, October 2001}  Editor's comment: Since alcohol use is a risk for high blood pressure, then alcohol consumption is also a risk for diabetic retinopathy for those who have diabetes.

Impotence

Hypertension increases the risk and severity of impotence.
{Journal of Urology, Oct. 2000, in Washington Post Health, Oct. 10, 2000}

Prevention and Control of High Blood Pressure

There is now evidence to suggest that diet, physical activity and alcohol consumption are the three major environmental influences on blood pressure levels.
{Journal of Hypertension, in the book "Overcoming Hypertension," by Lawrence Beilin}

A report from the ‘American Family Practitioner’ (34 #4:182, 1986) recommends reducing alcohol intake, adding that some would need to eliminate it entirely for reducing high blood pressure.
{Healthwise Newsletter, Dec. 1986}

High blood pressure can be triggered by alcohol consumption. There is some evidence that people who completely abstain from alcohol consumption have a lower risk of heart disease.
{“Family Guide to Stroke,” American Heart Association, 1994}

Reduce alcohol. Lowering alcohol consumption can be just as beneficial as pharmaceutical drugs in some cases of high blood pressure. Lifestyle changes can even prevent high blood pressure, says Lawrence Appel, investigator of a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore.
{Let’s Live magazine, May 1997 and Nov. 19, 1996, Washington Post Health}

The following things can replace pharmaceutical drugs in treating some cases of high blood pressure, or prevent it from developing; a daily diet rich in fruits and vegetables, weight loss, increased exercise, reduced salt and alcohol.
{Washington Post Health, 1997, "Diet Lowers Blood Pressure"}

The control of blood pressure is done primarily through diet, including avoiding alcohol.
{Alan Gaby, MD, Professor of Therapeutic Nutrition and a member of the clinical staff at Bastyr University, past president of the American Holistic Medical Association, and the author of many health books - on Ronald Hoffman, MD, "Health Talk," WINA radio, Aug. 27, 2001}

Other Findings

Alcohol can raise blood pressure and the level of triglycerides in the blood.
{“Living Well, Staying Well,” 1996 book by the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society}

Drinking every day or drinking on an empty stomach significantly increases the risk of hypertension, according to the results of a recent U.S. study. Those who consumed alcohol daily had the highest level of hypertension at 39%.
{Research presented at the U.S. Society for Epidemiology on June 13, 2001, "Time of alcohol consumption affects blood pressure," www.health-news.co, June 2001}

Casual drinking can put extra stress on the body, countering the claims that moderate alcohol consumption can be healthy. Researchers at Penn State University said that drinking small amounts of alcohol before work or exercise makes the body work harder to perform. "Practically speaking, after drinking, it takes more energy to do the same job," said researcher Dr. Mary E. Nicholson. People with high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems may be particularly at risk.
{"Healthy Drinking Debunked," Join Together; HN3078@handsnet.org, May 2001}

Blood pressure drugs may reduce the numbers but you still have high blood pressure, and drugs do nothing to eliminate the cause of the problem. In addition to losing weight and exercising, eliminate smoking and alcohol use. Often, when blood pressure medications are started, other drugs are prescribed to control some of the side effects, and as each new drug is added, the stress and biochemical chaos in your body multiplies.
{"Special Report," Dr. Bruce West, Spring 2001}

A small rise of systolic pressure often occurs with social drinking.
{"The Cardiovascular System and Alcohol," Timothy Regan, MD, Sep. 2002 - www.health20-20.org}

The Archives of Internal Medicine (Feb. 2001), reported that the systolic blood pressure (the higher number) is increased by the intake of alcohol, while the diastolic blood pressure was reduced by alcohol intake.
{nutritionnewsfocus.com- Aug. 2001}  Author’s comments: This would make it easy for the media to manipulate figures and report that blood pressure is reduced by the use of alcohol.

Research from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, says that alcohol impairs the body’s ability to maintain normal blood pressure even after minor bleeding. When you suffer even a small amount of bleeding, the brain takes action to restore normal blood pressure. It does this by releasing chemicals, including adrenaline, into your circulatory system, but alcohol seems to blunt that response.
{“Booze Throws Blood Pressure for a Loop,” healthscout.com, Oct. 2002}

Alcohol impairs the body’s ability to tighten the blood vessels, a natural process that maintains blood pressure when a person moves from a sitting to standing position. This study demonstrated that alcohol consumption in social drinkers causes low blood pressure upon standing because of impaired constriction of blood vessels, said the lead author, Krzysztof Narkiewicz, MD, PhD, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland. He conducted the study as a National Institutes of Health fellow at the University of Iowa College of Medicine.
{"Scientific Explanation Found For Link Between Fainting And Drinking Alcohol," American Heart Association Feb. 2000 in sciencedaily.com, Oct. 2002}

Related Links

• Alcohol - Heart and Triglycerides