Can i bring my high blood pressure down by stopping alcohol?

[battenburg100]

Hi everyone
Had a bit of a shock at the doctors today - my blood pressure, which has always been normal until recently, is high at 157 / 94 . I am now terrified of a stroke or a heart attack.

I'm 53 years old and definitely feel this NEW high blood pressure is related to me having too much ALCOHOL in the evenings, something I didn't do, until this last year or so - a bottle of wine a night is normal for me now, or more sometimes - but now, after this very scary result, I feel I should cut alcohol completely out of my life to lower my blood pressure, as I presume they are related???

I feel sad that I have used alcohol the past year or so, as a coping mechanism for a very stressful toxic job, which I have now left. I had never been interested in alcohol prior to this.

I am now due to start a new job and the excitement of this new job is clouded with fear that I have wrecked my future and my life, and am now on course for a stroke or heart attack due to the high blood pressure.

Do you think I can bring my blood pressure back to normal if I completely stop alcohol?

I have heard blood pressure can be brought down in 3 weeks if you abstain from alcohol - Is this possible? I have a follow up GP appointment in 3 weeks, related to the high blood pressure - so I am hoping for a good result when I see him, having stopped drinking alcohol.

Thank you for your responses

Absolutely. Alcohol raises BP levels quite considerably. I hope you enjoy your new job :)

It’s got to have a positive effect. Losing weight will certainly help with lowering BP.

I’m sure it will help but unless part of your bp reading was situational, I very much expect you’ll need to make other significant lifestyle changes as well.

Less booze and more water.
Good rest and some Yoga.

edited to add - That's a lot of alcohol, be a bit careful how you cut down, If you are on 7 bottles a week....

Have they suggested you measure it daily? It's not a bad idea to do that.

I'm where you are but I don't really drink much anymore and I'm not sure how much effect it has to be honest.

It's not a bad thing in itself but probably has to be combined with lots of veg and fruit, making sure you are hydrated, seeds and nuts (ground flax seed), exercise and losing weight.

I'm on tablets now and mine has come down to about where yours is even on the tablets....ahem. Mine is probably largely genetic.

So yes cut down for lots of reasons, but read up on it and see what else you can do.

OP, you are taking exactly the right steps to lower your blood pressure.

Did you discuss your alcohol intake with the doctor? In a truthful way? It can be bad for you to just stop suddenly and you might get withdrawal symptoms. Maybe get some advice on stopping?

Good luck, fantastic that you have a great new job!

Not always, it takes lifestyle changes. You can be a skinny alcoholic with high blood pressure. Or even just have other none weight related risk factors.

OP if it doesn't come down quickly enough with stopping alcohol, your GP may suggest medication. Either way this can be sorted out.

Giving up alcohol will bring it down though perhaps not as much as to be within recommended levels. Do you get any exercise? Half an hours brisk walk a day will work wonders.

Yes, definitely. I’ve always had great BP, until I started drinking a lot. Then it was higher than yours.

I stopped drinking over a year ago. It’s normal again. I also lost a stone without trying.

Absolutely cut right down on alcohol. Also caffeine and salt.

I've got high BP so I'm starting to cut these 3 right down and have got a BP reading machine via Amazon for £10.

You could be at risk of acute withdrawal as you're drinking in excess of 70 units a week, so stopping completely could be dangerous (as in potentially life threatening or causing brain damage) - did you tell your GP exactly how much you're drinking?

Look for your local alcohol support service, as they will be able to assist on the medical safety and help you access other support.

I've recently had this exact issue.

I'm February my BP was 180/98. I've hugely cut down on alcohol and now only drink 1 night a week, and BP is down to 120/84 ish.

Still not ideal so I have been put on medication for it, but massively reducing alcohol made a huge difference.

Did they also say to reduce caffeine?

thank you so much for all your replies - I really appreciate it.

The blood pressure appointment was with my nurse, not GP, and she then made a referral to the pharmacist based on the high result of 157/94, to have a 24 hour blood pressure monitor attached to me, to get a more accurate reading. (I didnt tell her about the alcohol or cigarettes).

I dont want to do the blood pressure monitor YET, as I know the reading will be bad due to the alcohol - and it will cause me extra anxiety .

So my plan is to cut alcohol for the 3 weeks until I see my GP - who doesnt know about my high blood pressure reading and then have a reading with him which would hopefully be normal, having stopped alcohol for 3 weeks.

Is this possible to achieve in 3 weeks?

I feel so sad I have got into this mess due to my own fault and feel scared I am now a ticking time bomb and could have a stroke or heart attack any minute in the next 3 weeks till I see the GP .......

"I have heard blood pressure can be brought down in 3 weeks if you abstain from alcohol - Is this possible?"

Absolutely. A few years ago, DB was in the same situation as you. He was also drinking the best part of a bottle of wine a night. (He was also the same sort of age as you).

He cut back out all alcohol and within about a month his blood pressure was down to normal levels.

However, he also wasn't very obese and was quite active anyway. If you are overweight and not very active then that can also affect your blood pressure.

Now that the evenings are much lighter it may also help just to go out for a walk for 20 or 30 mins? This might also perhaps help to distract you from the situations where you normally open the wine and help you to get out of that habit.

Unfortunately smoking will contribute to high blood pressure too.

drinking and fags do indeed raise BP massively in some people as does weight, excessive weight

cut down, dow about more walking reduce cakes etc don't diet just reduce a bit in a few weeks you will start to not the difference!!

You are smoking too? Honestly, smoking and a bottle of wine a night is a nightmare for your body.
Please stop both and try to get some moderate exercise in and maybe eat a bit healthier. It will do you the world of good.

DH's blood pressure was going up, and of all the things he tried, reducing his caffeine intake had the biggest effect.

Disclaimer: He doesn't smoke and doesn't drink 70+ units a week.

@battenburg100 in your case cutting down on alcohol, salt and caffeine and stopping smoking should halp a lot. Good luck.

Dr. It can. Do not go from a bottle a day to nothing though or you'll be at risk of withdrawal seizures. Talk to ur Dr about cutting down gradually

I cut caffeine and my numbers dropped by about 20-30 in just over a week.

I now only have decaff coffee and maybe one or two cokes per week (used to be daily).

I've not yet tackled the wine. That's next 😂

We're same age. My readings were higher.

It is definitely worth a try.

However be prepared for it not to work. I gave it a 3 month trial and giving up alcohol had no measurable effect. I didn't lose any weight either! I also tried a whole raft of other natural measures, all of which failed.

My high blood pressure appears to be genetic and I'm on medication for the foreseeable future.

A random thing I’ve found that raised my heart rate massively was a plug in air freshener. We were visiting a relative who uses them, I sat in her lounge next to it (and I know I was because it was super smelly) for about 30 mins chatting and my Apple Watch suddenly went mad with alerts.

My resting heart rate is normally about 75bmp but it had gone to a sustained over 10 minutes 127bmp just sitting still. It’s never ever done that before, so we left and 15 minutes later after a lot of fresh air I was fine. It’s not done it again thankfully. So if you have any of those in the house, throw it out.

This. I'm on about the same as you by the sounds of it (maybe just a tad more) and I am currently attending the drug and alcohol service.

They were very firm on me not going cold turkey. I knew it was potentially dangerous but their GP told me that if you have a seizure withdrawing, not only could you die but you could end up with permanent dementia, which to me would be worse than death!

The drug and alcohol service have been brilliant. I had a liver scan, thankfully that was fine. Their GP is liaising with mine to prescribe things like vitamins, I think he said it was B12 drinkers often lack. I'm having an ECG, blood tests etc. The support is so good.

PPs are right though that smoking will also be contributing. I say that without judgement, am also a smoker. But it's true.

I haven't RTFT but the underlying cause may be to do with why you're drinking in excess in the first place.

Please ask for some help and support.