Should You Drink Alcohol If You Have High Blood Pressure?

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

Key Takeaways

• Multiple studies have found that moderate and excessive alcohol consumption can increase one’s risk of high blood pressure.

• Experts say individuals who have high blood pressure should either decrease their alcohol consumption or drink in moderation.

• All types of alcohol can affect blood pressure levels. What matters isn’t the specific type of alcohol you pick but rather how much you drink and how frequently.

Sometimes, it’s hard to avoid alcoholic beverages at social events, but excessive alcohol consumption may increase your risk of high blood pressure.

If you already have high blood pressure, your doctor may have advised you to drink alcohol in moderation and cut back on your overall alcohol intake.

“While we do not tell patients to refrain from alcohol use completely if they have high blood pressure, we do recommend moderating or decreasing their alcohol consumption,” Sahadeo Ramnauth, MD, FACC, director of outpatient cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Queens, told Verywell in an email.

A 2023 report found that drinking too much alcohol regularly, exceeding 30 grams per day, can significantly increase the risk of developing high blood pressure. According to a recent analysis by the American Heart Association (AHA), the more alcoholic drinks you have each day, the higher your systolic blood pressure tends to be.

The AHA states even people who drink one alcoholic beverage per day showed a link to higher blood pressure compared to non-drinkers.

Alcohol consumption is categorized into different levels based on the amount consumed. Here is how drinking levels are defined according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Related: How to Lower Your Systolic Blood Pressure

How Does Alcohol Affect Blood Pressure?

When you drink alcohol, it can lead to an increase in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) excitability. When the SNS is stimulated or “activated” due to stress or alcohol intake, it works harder than usual.

When the SNS gets activated by alcohol, it can increase heart rates and constrict blood vessels. Prolonged activation of the SNS can contribute to health issues like high blood pressure.

Ramnauth said alcohol can also impair or diminish “baroreceptors in the brain that would sense blood pressure.” These baroreceptors regulate blood pressure by detecting changes and signaling the body to adjust. 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.

Alcohol also stimulates the release of adrenaline and puts the body in a fight-or-flight mode, leading to elevated blood pressure.

“This complex interplay leads to elevated blood pressure and subsequent hypertension,” Ramnauth said. However, “since everyone has different physiology, many people may react to the same amount of alcohol in diverse ways,” he added.

Related: The Impact of Alcohol on Your Body

How Much Alcohol Can You Safely Consume If You Have High Blood Pressure?

The same amount of alcohol for someone with high blood pressure varies based on factors like individual health status, age, weight, fitness level, and more, according to Louis Morledge, MD, a board-certified internist at Northwell Health.

“If you have high blood pressure, it’s probably in your best interest to drink minimally,” Morledge said.

In general, experts suggest that people with high blood pressure shouldn’t exceed moderate alcohol consumption, which is one drink or less per day for women and two drinks or less per day for men.

The type of alcohol doesn’t matter, but rather the frequency of your consumption, according to Sameer Amin, MD, a cardiologist and chief medical officer at L.A. Care Health Plan.

“There is no significant data to support one alcoholic beverage over another,” Amin told Verywell in an email. “It is generally understood that effect on one’s health is more dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed, as opposed to the type of alcohol.”

In addition to cutting back on alcohol, you can incorporate other lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and stress management, to help lower your blood pressure.

“The best ways to maintain good health and lower blood pressure is by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and maintaining a good diet that is low in salt and predominantly made up of unprocessed foods,” Amin said.

Read Next: Most People Have No Idea What Their Blood Pressure or Cholesterol Levels Are, Survey Finds

What This Means For You

Studies have shown that excessive alcohol consumption can worsen blood pressure levels. If you have high blood pressure, it's best to reduce your alcohol intake.

Read the original article on Verywell Health.