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Alcohol and High Blood Pressure – Effects, Treatment, Management

by | Health | 2 comments

What is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure has many causes, this post is primarily concerned with the relationship between alcohol and high blood pressure. Blood Pressure is the measurement of the pressure of the blood against the walls of your blood vessels. A BP monitor calculates the force of the blood from both the beating heart and the resting heart.

Alcohol can cause high blood pressure (HBP) while you’re drinking, and long term heavy drinking can cause chronic high blood pressure. HBP can lead to a heart attack or heart failure, stroke, and kidney failure.

Dr Brian Silver of Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, says “Somehow the binge drinking compounds [HPB] — and more than just a little bit.
Men with really HBP are at even greater risk. 6 or more drinks consumed in one sitting can quadruple the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Dr Silver, who is also a spokesman for the American Heart Association, says “There have been studies that alcohol [consumption] can increase blood pressure 15 to 20 points. And if you start off hypertensive, raising your blood pressure 15 or 20 points probably does as much as double your risk of stroke, so this certainly fits with things we already know.”

What are the Symptoms of High Blood Pressure?

There are really no symptoms of high blood pressure, other than it registering on a blood pressure monitor. So it is vitally important that you know this reading. High blood pressure can cause aneurysms, narrowing of the blood vessels and arteries, kidney failure, stroke, heart attack, blindness, and amputations.

Treatment for High Blood Pressure

The best way of controlling your blood pressure is to live a healthy life. Here’s 7 ways that you can lower your blood pressure and keep it down.

  • Reduce alcohol intake
  • Lose weight
  • Exercise regularly
  • Eat a healthy diet
  • Reduce salt intake
  • Reduce caffeine
  • Stop smoking

The more of these you choose to implement in your life, the better your blood pressure will be, and you’ll get the other benefits that come with a healthy lifestyle. There are also medications that can be prescribed in emergencies.

Outlook

The outlook for this condition depends on how much personal responsibility you take. If you go all out to change what you’re putting into your body, eliminate all the drinking and smoking, all the crappy foods and food additives, the outlook for a long and healthy life is very positive.

Sources

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/SymptomsDiagnosisMonitoringofHighBloodPressure/What-are-the-Symptoms-of-High-Blood-Pressure_UCM_301871_Article.jsp
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbp/signs.html

Thanks for visiting the site.
Until next time…
Onwards and Upwards!
Kev

Alcohol and High Blood Pressure

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2 Comments

  1. SlavicBoy

    Hello, Kevin.
    To briefly introduce myself: I’m a bit over 30-year old man from one of the Slavic countries. In the past I also had problems with alcohol and decided a couple of months ago to stop drinking since I realized that once you get addicted you can never drink normally again. I had read about that before, but of course, didn’t belive it ’till I tried it out myself.
    I must say that I really like watching your videos and listening to your explanations about alcohol addiction and how to deal with it every single day.
    But, to cut to the chase,I really want to hear from you is the problem with emotions. I’ve read that people addicted to alcohol become more or less numb. So for us is hard enough even to feel any human emotions let alone to express them the way “normal” people do. And that really shocked me. I think that feeling no emotions is even worse than feeling only bad ones. I know, when drunk, anyone will show how happy or sad they are, but those are not true emotions, it’s that alcohol that produces them. But when sober, we loke more like robots than humans. Isn’t that terrifying?
    Since I was a young kid I’ve alyways found it hard to express being really happy or sad (or any other basic emotion), I felt shame showing it due to my low self-esteem Then, when in my late teens, after I discovered how “good” alcohol can make me feel (even if just for a couple of minutes or hours) I stared drinking regularly. At the beginning only at the parties and in a good company but later also by myself, out of pure boredom, and to become confident. That’s how I became a slave to it. And now, when I’m finally sober and well aware that the first pint of beer will get me back to downfall, I still have problems to feel and show my true emotions when dealing with everyday situations. I think it will take quite some time.
    So I think that the problem with emotions and numbness could be a good idea for one of the next videos you’re gonna make.
    That’s all, thanks for the answers in advance and – as you say – onwards & upwards! 🙂
    S.B.

    Reply
    • Kevin O'Hara

      We still feel emotions when we’re drunk, even during the worst stages of our addictions. I remember plenty of times when I would burst into tears listening to a stupid sad song while I was pissed. I reckon the problem is that many people don’t know how to handle their emotions, so they turn to alcohol – or some other form of self-medication- to get a handle on their feelings. I’d like to concentrate a lot on learning about coping skills over the next couple of years. I really think that is the key to long term success in life. I’ll definitely do a video about this topic, and thanks for your suggestion. By the way, we are just as ‘normal’ as anyone else. Everyone has their weak points and their issues. over 80% of the population drinks alcohol – a poison – they do it deliberately, methodically, and regularly —- Is that ‘normal’?
      Cheers S.B.

      Reply

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