Alcohol And High Blood Pressure

Most people who find themselves drinking alcohol excessively are ignorant of what it might lead them to. There are many consequences of drinking too much alcohol which are very dangerous to your health. One of the biggest threat of excessive drinking is high blood pressure. Although there are other major causes of high blood pressure, experts were able to discover that too much drinking of alcohol greatly increases your blood pressure.

It is therefore very important for you to understand that when you drink alcohol excessively, it will affect your blood system. You must know that your health is determined by your blood pressure. Perhaps you may be wondering how does drinking alcohol affects your blood pressure. I want you to know that your drinking alcohol continously will lead to other health problems in your body which in turn affects your blood pressure.

Let us see how alcohol affects your blood presssure. Do you know that drinking alcohol affects your kidneys? When you drink alcohol excessively, it exacts pressure on the your arteries, causing the blood to flow at high pressure. This is one of the causes of high blood pressure in your body. So the more you drink, the more pressure you exact on your arteries and the more your blood pressure increases.

It is also very important that if you are a woman, you must stop drinking alcohol because your level of tolerance to high blood pressure is minimal compared to that of men. Therefore you must avoid drinking alcohol excessively as it will be very risky and dangerous to your health.

Another negative effects of drinking alcohol is overweight. When you drink more alcohol, you add more weight because alcohol itself contains more calories. You must know that when you increase weight, you are also increasing the level of fat in your body. This fat usually add unnecessary pressure to your blood arteries, causing less blood to flow at high pressure. So, each time you drink more alcohol, you are increasing your blood pressure.

Finally friend, I want you to understand that drinking alcohol is one of the major causes of high blood pressure because it has a direct negative effect on your blood stream. As you drink alcohol excessively, you are exposing your health to more dangers in addition to high blood pressure. Therefore you must begin to address your drinking addiction if you must keep a good health. I also recommend you to your doctor for more professional advice if you must stop drinking alcohol now. Also see your doctor if you are already developing a high blood pressure today.

Hypertension, Stroke, Heart Disease are common throughout the United States of America and indeed large parts of the Western World. Epidemiologists attribute much of this down to the Western diet.

Sad to say, after years of much research, Scientists have reached the conclusion that the typical Western Diet (USA & UK especially) is a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen as far as Hypertension and other associate Cardiovascular issues are concerned. Too much Salt, too much of the wrong types of fat (saturated not unsaturated), too many calories, not enough fruit and vegetables, too much alcohol and tobacco; basically, whether we like it or not, living life to the full too much.

Depressing or what?

However amidst all of this “doom and gloom” lies the fact that the good news hidden away in all of this is that in fact as far as the above potential problems are concerned, we can in fact do an awful lot about it. Our fat can actually lie in our own hands. You can take an active role in preventing and controlling high blood pressure by watching what you consume.

What can best be described as the watershed approach to the understanding of all of this came about in 1997 with the publication and results of the first Dietary Approaches to stop Hypertension study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Amongst a great many of the findings published in this study came the first real confirmation that we can actually positively influence our diet and through this help to control our Blood Pressure.

The DASH Diet

The results of this study were in fact so positive that the JNC (Joint National Committee on Health) guidelines now recommend most Americans (and others interested) follow the dietary guidelines of what has now become known as the DASH Diet – the key recommendation here is that all people not just those suffering from Hypertension should follow these dietary principles.

The diet proposes a regime that is low in Fat, and rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. Apparently the results of this plan were so impressive that those who were part of the initial study group quickly experienced a significant lowering in the levels of their Blood Pressure.

The initial volunteers on this study group were chosen from a random population of people suffering from Hypertension ad were randomly assigned three various dietary programmes to follow. The first was based on the conventional American diet that was 37% of the calories provided from fatty products. The second group was allocated a programme largely the same but with the additional benefits of added fruit and vegetables. The third group was allocated to the programme that later become known as the DASH Diet. This was 27% of the calories from fat, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, low fat or non fat dairy products and finally small amounts of meat, fish, poultry and nuts.

No prizes for guessing which group came out on top with the DASH participants experiencing an average reduction of up to 11.4 mm Hg in Systolic Pressure and a 5.5 mm Hg drop in Diastolic Pressure levels.

These results were actually favourably comparable to results obtained form similar trials but using Medication and Drugs. Not bad eh?

So the jury is back in, you are what you eat and if you decide and plan carefully what you eat you can do yourself some benefit!

In recent years changes in diet and lifestyle in many western societies have led to an increase in the number of people suffering from high blood pressure.
High blood pressure (otherwise known as hypertension, or more correctly arterial hypertension) is a serious condition which rarely carries any symptoms and which, if not detected and treated, can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure – all of which are series life-threatening conditions.
So just what is high blood pressure and what causes it?
The arteries of your body and constantly filled with blood which exerts a normal “background” pressure on the walls of the arteries. As the heart pumps freshly oxygenated blood around the body it forces this blood into the arteries momentarily raising the pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries during each beat of the heart. These two pressures are known as the systolic pressure (the higher pumping pressure of the heart) and the diastolic pressure (the lower “background” pressure).
Normal levels of blood pressure vary from individual to individual but, on average, systolic pressure should be around 120 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury measured on a manometer) and diastolic pressure should be about 80 mm Hg. This is ordinarily expressed as a blood pressure of 120/80.
If your blood pressure starts to rise and remains at a level above 120/80 then you are described as being “prehypertensive” and, while this is not serious in itself, it is an indication that you may be at risk of developing hypertension and the problems associated with it. Once your blood pressure reaches, and maintains, a level of 140/90 or above you are said to be suffering from hypertension and action needs to be taken to reduce your blood pressure.
But what causes your blood pressure to rise and remain elevated?
Well, there are several factors at play here and the first is a group over which you have little, if any, control. This group includes a low birth weight, a variety of genetic factors, certain forms of diabetes (in particular type 2 diabetes) and your age (as we grow older our arteries tend to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, resulting in a smaller cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).
The second group of factors is much more within your control and includes leading a sedentary lifestyle, high levels of salt and/or saturated fats in the diet, being overweight, smoking, alcohol abuse, stress and working in certain occupations such as flying or motorway maintenance, which involves exposure to long periods of high level roadway noise.
The vast majority of these factors are of course treatable and, in many cases, a simple adjustment to your diet and the addition of some form of exercise into your daily routine is all that is needed to solve the problem. The difficulty however is that, without any real symptoms, most people simply don’t know that they are suffering from high blood pressure in the first place.
So how do you solve the problem?
Fortunately the answer to this question is very simple. All you need to do is to pop into your doctor’s office on a regular basis (for most of us a couple of times a year will do the trick) and ask the doctor, or practice nurse, to check your blood pressure. The whole process is painless, simple and fast and will give you peace of mind and possibly save your doctor a lot of time, work and expense later on when you are forced to present yourself at his office once hypertension has set in.
If, like most people, you are not so keen on visiting your doctor then an excellent alternative today is to simply monitor your own blood pressure at home. A wide range of easy to operate and relatively inexpensive monitors are available today, allowing you to keep an eye on your own health, and that of your family, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

I couldn’t resist the title. There are 4 groups of people I can think of. Those who don’t have high blood pressure but think they do, those who do have high blood pressure but think they don’t, those who don’t know and don’t care, and those who do know, and do care.
The first group of people are always worried. They get a headache, feel a little dizzy , feel some heart palpitations and are sure they have high blood pressure or going to have a stroke or a heart attack. The reality is, often, those with hypertension rarely have any symptoms unless complications have set in. Unfortunately, even people with very high blood pressure can feel quite well. Of course, the test itself is very easy, so it is probably better to get the blood pressure checked anyway. Better safe than sorry.
The second group are those who really do have hypertension. These are those who say “My doctor says I have high blood pressure.” Usually it is followed by “But I don’t feel anything.” As I said before, it is rare to have symptoms till complications set it. If you are above 40, or have a strong family history of hypertension, it is important to get your blood pressure checked regularly. You can see your doctor or nurse, or even buy a blood pressure monitor for yourself. Hypertension must be controlled in order to prevent complications.
For the group that don’t know and don’t care, I have nothing more to say. The rest of the article is for the last group.
So what is hypertension? Many people misuse the word. When they get angry with their children, they say “You are giving high blood pressure!” While it is true that exercise, or getting emotional can raise the blood pressure temporarily, it is not called hypertension. A sustained raised pressure higher than normal is hypertension. Your doctor will usually like to document a raised blood pressure over 2-3 different times before making a diagnosis.
There are two types of blood pressure – the systolic and the diastolic. The systolic BP is when the heart pumps blood, and the diastolic BP is when the heart relaxes. The current definition of hypertension is still a BP greater than 140 mmHg systolic, and 90 mmHg diastolic though some places are starting to lower the figure. Your doctor will record it as 140/90 mmHg. Normal is accepted as 120/80 mmHg.
What causes hypertension then? In most cases, there is no identifiable cause. Doctors call it essential hypertension. In other cases, kidney disease or other rare conditions can raise the blood pressure. This is particularly if the patient is very young.
So what are the risks of having it? Unfortunately, a higher blood pressure puts you at higher risk of getting strokes and heart attacks. The risk increases as the blood pressure increases. In time, the higher pressure can cause the heart and kidneys to wear out, leading to heart failure and kidney failure. Keeping the blood pressure within normal limits can reduce these risks.
So what can be done? There are natural non-medical ways of reducing blood pressure. Eat a low-fat, low salt nutritious diet. Avoid being obese. Aim to maintain an ideal weight. Cut down on excessive amounts of alcohol. Avoid stress and overwork. Consider going for relaxation or meditation classes. Exercise regularly. And quit smoking ! It doesn’t raise the blood pressure but it definitely does not help the heart.
If the natural measures do not help, the doctor may need to prescribe medication, called antihypertensive treatment. There are many different classes of drugs used to treat hypertension. The latest new drug may not necessarily be the best one for you. The choice of drug is affected by any other medical conditions, allergies, lifestyle, cost etc. Your doctor will be able to help you make the best choice. Sometimes, in serious cases, a combination of drugs may need to be used.
Take your medication regularly. Don’t skip days. And don’t stop the medication unless advised by your doctor.
So how often should you check it? If you are well and above 40, you may want to get it checked every 2-3 years. Women on the pill need to have it checked often. And if you are on medication, follow your doctor’s advice. Even if you don’t feel ill. By the time you do feel the effects of high blood pressure, it would be too late.