Beer raises or lowers blood pressure

There have always been many rumors among the people about whether alcohol raises or lowers blood pressure. There are several opinions about this. All are quite contradictory and ambiguous.

Probably, there are no diseases from which they would not try to be treated with alcohol. It is used as an anesthetic, a warming agent, for disinfection, and so on. Of particular interest is the effect of alcohol-containing beverages on blood pressure. According to statistics, today one third of the population of our country has cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the question: alcohol raises or lowers blood pressure is especially relevant at the present time.

The effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular system

The health of each person depends on the proper functioning of the heart and blood vessels.

In the normal state of these organs, the blood pressure on the walls of the arteries will be 120/80 mm Hg. Art. But this indicator is influenced by many factors. Including alcohol intake. The effect of ethanol and related oils on the body is ambiguous. Much depends on the dose and strength of the product.

After an alcohol-containing drink enters the body, the following reactions occur:

1. At the initial stage, the vessels become more elastic, flexible, they expand.
2. Further, heart contractions increase.
3. With further alcohol consumption, the blood supply is disrupted.

As you can see, from the moment alcohol enters the body and until the time when it completely leaves the body, its effect can be different. The intensity of the manifestation of the consequences is influenced, first of all, by the individual properties of the organism.

Lowering blood pressure after drinking

It is popularly believed that you can quickly reduce high blood pressure with a glass of vodka. This statement is only partially true. After ethanol enters the body, the tone of the arteries decreases, they expand. Blood does not need to overcome the resistance of the walls, it moves more freely through the channels. As a result, the numbers on the tonometer decrease.

But there is also the opposite effect of this condition. While the lumen of the vessels increases, the frequency of contraction of the heart muscles also increases. As a result, the heart ventricles do not have time to expel blood with the necessary force. As a result, although it is possible to reduce blood pressure, the flow of blood to those organs that are located far from the heart is significantly worsened.

High blood pressure after alcohol

The pressure rises sharply and people suffering from hypertension are especially difficult to tolerate such changes.

These changes are explained by the special properties of ethanol:

1. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system. The severity of this phenomenon depends on the dose drunk.
2. It provokes the release of norepinephrine, renin, hypertensin into the blood, which provokes a violation in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (hormonal) system, which is the regulator of blood volume and its pressure on the walls of blood vessels. As a result, blood pressure rises.
3. Diuretic effect. This property of ethanol leads to dysfunction of the water and electrolyte balance, which leads to an increase in blood pressure.

There is an opinion among the people that hypertension can be treated with alcohol. But is it really so? The cause of high blood pressure is not only a reduced tone of blood vessels, but also many other factors that alcohol affects in a negative way.

Also, do not forget about the consequences of high pressure. For example, if the result of increased blood pressure was focal ischemia of the cerebral arteries, then in the case of drinking alcohol and a sharp increase in blood pressure on the walls of blood vessels, you can get a hemorrhagic stroke.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account the fact that alcohol in arterial hypertension is incompatible with many drugs. For example, if during the use of drugs such as Reserpine, Adelfanili Raunatin, you drink alcohol-containing drinks, the toxic effect of ethanol increases several times, and the central nervous system is depressed. Therefore, during the treatment of hypertension, doctors do not recommend drinking alcohol, even in small quantities.

Beer and pressure

Quite often, hypertensive patients, without even thinking about whether beer raises or lowers blood pressure, drink this intoxicating drink in large quantities. Although beer contains many useful trace elements, it still contains ethyl alcohol, which has a very negative effect on the heart and blood vessels.

The effect of beer on blood pressure, as well as other alcoholic beverages, is ambiguous. A small amount of drink (no more than one bottle is allowed) produces a pleasant effect: a person does not feel intoxicated, he feels good, his mood improves, and his blood pressure drops a little.

The decrease in blood pressure after drinking beer is due to several factors:

1. The first action is the expansion of blood vessels, which facilitates the passage of blood.
2. In addition, beer is a good diuretic. The removal of a large amount of fluid allows at the initial stage to lower blood pressure.

As a result, the kidneys do not have time to filter the incoming fluid, they stop producing a substance that contributes to the normalization of blood pressure, but they produce an element that provokes spasm of the arteries. As a result, fluid retention can be observed, blood volume increases, blood vessels constrict. All this leads to a rapid increase in blood pressure. In addition, swelling appears, the head begins to hurt.

Another factor that provokes the development of persistently high blood pressure is obesity. Almost everyone who likes to drink beer is overweight.

1. Everyone knows that this drink is a very high-calorie product.
2. In addition, a high content of maltose contributes to an increase in blood sugar.
3. Plus, the presence of plant hormone-like substances.

This combination contributes to rapid obesity, which is one of the main causes of hypertension.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that you can lower the pressure if you drink a little alcohol. Significant doses, and even more so regular use of alcohol, can quickly increase blood pressure and contribute to the development of hypertension. Drinking strong drinks in order to normalize blood pressure is also not worth it. Regular "treatment" will cause addiction and, as a result, the development of alcoholism. And it is categorically not allowed to drink any alcoholic beverages to people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system, in particular, to hypertensive patients. Because it can be very dangerous to health.