You’ve probably heard that a glass of red wine is good for your heart. You may also have been told that alcohol raises your blood pressure. Let’s sort through the facts to help you understand how and why alcohol may impact your cardiovascular health.

Facts:

Having more than three drinks in one sitting temporarily increases your blood pressure, even if you are completely healthy.

• Repeatedly drinking an excessive amount of alcohol several times a week may lead to chronic (long-lasting) high blood pressure.

How alcohol may cause hypertension

When you drink more than a moderate amount of alcohol, it can build up in your blood and your kidneys may not be able to filter it out quickly enough. In the meantime, alcohol may be causing your heart to work harder, your arteries to constrict and possibly your adrenaline levels to increase – all of which have the potential for raising your blood pressure.

Heavy drinkers can usually lower their blood pressure by cutting back to moderate alcohol consumption.  The average reduction in systolic blood pressure is 2-4 points, and average reduction in diastolic blood pressure is 1-2 points. The exact amount will depend on previous alcohol consumption, age, current blood pressure and other medical conditions.

Two more things to consider

Even a few drinks can pile on the calories, and may also reduce your willpower, which is why alcohol  frequently contributes to unwanted weight gain. Those extra pounds also increase your risk for high blood pressure.

Alcohol also can interfere with the effectiveness of some blood pressure medications, and may even increase their side effects.

Bottom line

If you choose to drink, here are the recommendations for doing so in moderation:

• Women and everyone over age 65: up to one drink a day
• Men up to age 65: up to two drinks a day