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How many alcoholic drinks might benefit an older person with hypertension?

Christopher J Bulpitt1

  • 1Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK. c.bulpritt@ic.ac.uk

Journal of Hypertension
|October 7, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Reducing alcohol intake lowers blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. However, for hypertensive individuals over 60, moderate drinking may be beneficial, and complete abstinence is not advised.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Alcohol consumption is linked to blood pressure and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
  • Abstinence from alcohol is associated with increased CVD risk.
  • Current advice on reducing alcohol intake may not be universally beneficial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the effects of lowering alcohol consumption on blood pressure and coronary heart disease (CHD).
  • To discuss the relationship between alcohol, CHD, and stroke.
  • To evaluate the benefits and risks of alcohol consumption in the general population.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on large meta-analyses.
  • Analysis of studies examining alcohol intake, blood pressure, and cardiovascular outcomes.
  • Discussion of epidemiological data on alcohol and health.

Main Results:

  • Lowering alcohol intake reduces blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.
  • Abstainers exhibit higher cardiovascular risk.
  • For hypertensive patients over 60 drinking >16 drinks/week, reduction is advised, but complete cessation is not recommended.

Conclusions:

  • Moderate alcohol consumption may be advisable for hypertensive individuals over 60.
  • Non-drinkers are not advised to start drinking alcohol.
  • For most hypertensive individuals over 60, moderate drinking appears to offer more benefits than harm.

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