Doctors warn that it is forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages with high blood pressure, because it threatens a heart attack or stroke. Only a little wine or cognac is allowed.
Many people suffer from hypertension, complaining of high blood pressure. If it used to be a disease of the elderly, now it also affects the young. It is almost impossible to cure, but if you take medication regularly, you can get your blood pressure back to normal. Many patients faced with this disease are concerned with the question, “Is it possible to drink alcohol with hypertension? ” How will alcohol affect the well-being of a sick person? Let's see what doctors have to say about it.
A little about hypertension
Hypertension is rightly called the "silent killer. "Often a person does not suspect that they are ill at all until the doctor measures their blood pressure. For many people, a pressure of 120/80 is considered normal, and an increase to 140/90 is a small deviation from the norm, a pressure of 160/95 is high and requires constant treatment. But it should be borne in mind that these numbers are not suitable for some people, they may have slightly low or slightly elevated blood pressure, which does not affect their well-being.
How else to understand that a person suffers from hypertension? He may have the following symptoms:
- Headache, in the back of the head.
- My head is spinning.
- Heart pain occurs.
- He has insomnia.
- The person has mood swings.
If the patient is not in a hurry for treatment, then everything can end very sadly for him. Complications of hypertension - heart failure, stroke, heart attack. Can I drink alcohol with hypertension? We'll talk about that.
Hypertension and alcohol
Scientists and doctors talk about the link between alcohol and high blood pressure. If you constantly drink alcoholic beverages, then the possibility of getting hypertension increases 2-4 times. Can I drink alcohol with high blood pressure? To understand this question, you need to understand how alcoholic beverages affect the human body.
Effects of alcohol on humans
Alcohol enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body. It contains ethanol, which causes blood vessels to dilate. Therefore, initially a person's blood pressure decreases. The blood begins to move very quickly, the load on the heart increases. However, the vessels do not remain dilated for a long time, after a while they shrink, which causes the person's pressure to increase. The answer to the question of whether it is possible to drink alcohol with high blood pressure was found. A person suffering from hypertension should not drink alcoholic beverages. Despite the fact that initially the alcohol lowers the pressure a little, then it becomes high, which can lead to a stroke or heart attack.
Research by South Korean scientists
This has been confirmed by scientists from South Korea. They also worried about the question of whether it is possible to drink alcoholic beverages with high blood pressure or with hypertension. Staff at the School of Medicine have been able to prove that people who drink alcohol with high blood pressure risk dying prematurely from a heart attack. This research was conducted for almost 21 years. Scientists observed the lives of 6, 100 people over the age of 50. Among them were those who like to drink alcohol: 15% - drinks and 3% - heavy drinks.
Scientists monitored the condition of drinks and non-smokers with hypertension. If a person at a pressure of at least 168/100 ate more than sixty grams of alcohol contained in the drink, then his chance of dying prematurely increased by 4 times. If he drank more, that is, about 120 g of alcohol, then the numbers were frightening: he had a 12 times higher chance of dying. Already these figures clearly show whether it is possible to drink alcohol with high blood pressure. And that is easy to explain. With hypertension, constant high blood pressure, the cardiovascular system suffers greatly, alcohol also has a negative impact on it, and together this explosive mixture increases the likelihood of early death.
Alcohol and drugs for hypertension
We have determined that alcoholic beverages should not be consumed with hypertension. Those who have faced this disease know that with constantly high blood pressure, you must take pills. What and in what amount, the doctor decides. It’s no secret that many drugs and alcohol are incompatible, it can either amplify or reduce their effect. In addition, if you take pills and alcohol at the same time, they become toxic, which cannot but does not affect a person's well-being.
At best it will be dizziness, at worst - arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, hallucinations. So, if you take alcohol and nitroglycerin-containing medications at the same time, you can die. If you drink alcoholic beverages with high blood pressure, the containers are diluted first. When a person takes a pill, it will also increase blood vessels. As a result, the pressure in the aorta will drop sharply, the amount of blood it needs will stop flowing into the heart and heart failure will develop. A person can be saved if they get medical help immediately. Therefore, you cannot drink alcohol and take medication at the same time, any doctor will tell you about it.
Exception to rule
You don't have to be an alcoholic to drink alcohol. Sometimes there is a reason to have a drink, like a birthday or New Year’s. What alcohol can you drink with high blood pressure, what drinks are allowed and in what quantity? You need to measure your blood pressure before the feast. If it is very high, then it is better not to drink alcohol that day, than to limit yourself to mineral water or soda. If all goes well, you can afford a drink.
Which drinks should not be consumed and which should be drunk? It is better to give up champagne, vodka and beer. Red wine and good cognac are allowed. You can drink up to 200 ml of red wine and 50 g of brandy. Some are sure that if they have been drinking and their health has not deteriorated, then there is no need to worry, they can continue drinking. That is a fallacy. The reaction to alcohol may not appear immediately, but after a while, so the person could get sick the very next day. It is up to the man to decide whether or not to drink high blood pressure, but if he is not willing to follow the doctor's advice, he will have to face the consequences of addiction.