If you have a heart problem, drinking alcohol can make things worse. It’s important to understand the risks, so you can make informed decisions about your lifestyle.
Blood pressure
The British Heart Foundation warns that regularly drinking too much alcohol can increase your blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, puts extra strain on your heart muscle and, over time, can increase your risk of developing serious problems such as heart disease, chronic kidney disease and stroke.
Weight gain and cholesterol levels
Alcohol contains a lot of calories, so regular drinking can lead to weight gain, a risk factor for both high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Alcohol can also affect your cholesterol levels, reducing “good” HDL cholesterol and increasing the amount of “bad” LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (another type of fat) circulating in your blood. This can lead to a build of fatty deposits in your arteries, making them narrower and forcing your heart to work harder.
The red wine myth
You may have heard that drinking red wine is good for your heart. But while some studies suggest there may be
a link between moderate red wine consumption and lower rates of heart disease, recent research has shown that the risks of drinking alcohol far outweigh any potential benefits.
Safe limits?
If you’re a regular drinker, you may feel that alcohol doesn’t affect you, but that usually means you’ve developed a tolerance to some of the effects. The UK Chief Medical Officers advise drinking no more than 14 units of alcohol a week. They also recommend spreading this over at least three days, with several alcohol-free days a week and no bingeing. However, if you have a heart problem, please ask your health professional for advice.
The good news!
When you stop drinking, or reduce the amount you drink, you should see an improvement in your blood pressure – usually within a few days. You should sleep better, too, and start to enjoy other benefits to your health and wellbeing.
What is a unit of alcohol?
One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. That’s how much alcohol your body can process in an hour. But because different types of drinks contain different percentages of alcohol (sometimes written as ABV), working out your units can be confusing. As a basic guide, here are three common examples of what one unit of alcohol looks like…
