Wine culture has a long history in China. However, a bottle of good wine is naturally an indispensable "role" at the dinner table besides food. However, with the continuous development of medicine, there are various health crises hidden behind long-term excessive drinking, such as hypertension, liver cancer, alcoholic fatty liver and so on. Especially in front of a large number of hypertensive groups, some people who love to drink have to put down their glasses painfully.

As for patients with hypertension, can they drink alcohol? I believe this must be a long-standing confusion in everyone's heart. In real life, some people say they can drink, while others say they can't. But who is right and who is wrong? We don't know yet. In fact, in clinic, almost all doctors, including me, will advise hypertensive patients not to drink alcohol. So how did this conclusion come from? Today, I will answer your question.

What are the hazards of hypertension?

When we are identified as patients with hypertension, if we don't pay attention to controlling blood pressure for a long time and the blood pressure remains at a high level, the heart will become more and more tired and it will become more and more difficult to pump blood, which will lead to serious health problems, such as renal failure, heart failure, heart attack and stroke. Most patients with hypertension will have symptoms only when the disease develops enough to damage the inner wall of arteries. In other words, some people know that they have high blood pressure, but they don't know until they go to the hospital for examination after a heart attack or stroke. This is why we have always called hypertension "the silent killer".

In fact, clinically, hypertension can also have an "emergency". When someone's blood pressure exceeds 180/ 120mmHg, accompanied by symptoms of target organ damage, such as irregular heartbeat, chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc. We can diagnose this emergency as malignant hypertension. Because malignant hypertension will affect the organs that are most sensitive to blood pressure changes, such as our kidneys, eyes, brain and heart, which are the most vulnerable.

Although malignant hypertension is rare, it only affects 1%-3% of hypertensive patients, but once it happens, its harm is enormous, and it will even affect our lives seriously. The causes of malignant hypertension are not only organic diseases, but also some negative lifestyles, such as not taking antihypertensive drugs and drinking heavily for a long time.

In fact, the harm of hypertension is far more than that. Although more often, we all suffer from high blood pressure without knowing it, once complications occur, it will not only hurt us personally, but also bring pain to the whole family. A few days ago, I treated a 54-year-old patient with hypertension. Knowing that his blood pressure was high, he not only stopped taking antihypertensive drugs privately, but also loved drinking all the time, but suddenly he had a cerebral hemorrhage. Until now, he is still in the intensive care unit.

What is the relationship between hypertension and drinking?

Epidemiological studies show that there is a clear relationship between excessive drinking and hypertension, and alcohol consumption is directly related to the increase of systolic blood pressure. 1999-2004 American national health and nutrition examination survey results show that:

Increasing 10g alcohol per day for men and women can increase the average systolic blood pressure by 1mmHg. 1

Nowadays, a lot of scientific research has linked long-term drinking with various health effects. For long-term drinkers, especially young drinkers, almost every system of our body will be adversely affected by alcohol, such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Moreover, heavy drinking has also been proved to lead to health problems, such as liver disease or cirrhosis, brain injury, arrhythmia, cancer, etc., and even make the management and control of other diseases more difficult, such as diabetes and hypertension.

According to a paper in China Journal of Epidemiology:

The amount of male drinking increases with the increase of weekly drinking frequency, and the age of drinking per week is advanced, and the types of drinking-related adverse conditions are increasing, so the prevalence of hypertension is on the rise. 2

Indeed, as the frequency of drinking increases, we men will drink more and more. After all, there are many people who like to drink in our country, and we all focus on hard liquor. In other words, long-term drinking will make us mentally and psychologically dependent and will never be able to quit. For patients with hypertension, even if they take antihypertensive drugs on time, if they can't stop drinking, the antihypertensive effect of the drugs will be reduced.

Why do almost all doctors advise hypertensive patients not to drink alcohol? How did the conclusion come from?

In clinical practice, I believe that every doctor hopes to provide the most sincere and authoritative medical advice for his patients, and also hopes that patients can follow their own guidance and suggestions and bring a lot of help to their rehabilitation. Indeed, for all doctors, patients with hypertension will be advised not to drink. In fact, this is not nonsense, but is fabricated by our own clinical experience. In the face of any disease, our doctors will follow the authoritative treatment guidelines when treating. With the updating of treatment guidelines, doctors' knowledge reserves will be constantly updated.

In fact, "Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension in China 20 10" points out:

Excessive drinking is a risk factor for hypertension, and the prevalence of hypertension in the population increases with the increase of drinking. Although blood pressure drops in a short time after drinking a small amount, long-term drinking a small amount can slightly increase blood pressure.

Based on this, the Guide points out that:

All patients with hypertension should limit drinking, and the daily alcohol intake of men should not exceed 25g. Women's daily alcohol intake should not exceed 15g. People with hypertension are not encouraged to drink alcohol. If they drink alcohol, they should use a small amount: the amount of liquor, wine or rice wine and beer should be less than 50ml, 100ml and 300ml per day.

From the above guide, we can see that medical advice has always been "limiting", "discouraging" and "small amount" for patients with hypertension. Since hypertensive patients are not encouraged to drink alcohol, doctors will definitely advise hypertensive patients not to drink alcohol. After all, drinking too much wine is easy to control yourself, and it will be addictive for a long time, so patients with hypertension had better quit.

However, considering our real life, anyone who likes drinking likes to drink too much. If you let him drink 50 ml of white wine every day, he may not want to be killed. Therefore, no matter how much we used to like drinking, once hypertension is diagnosed, don't shout the slogan of drinking a little. Simply quitting is the most practical way.

Conclusion:

Abstinence from alcohol as soon as possible is good for patients with hypertension, whether it is blood pressure control or other diseases. For patients with hypertension, besides abstaining from alcohol, we can also make some small changes in living habits, such as eating less low-sodium diet, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight, which can effectively control blood pressure. In fact, more often, we should take controlling blood pressure as the perfect reason to help ourselves recover, so that we will be more confident on the road to fighting high blood pressure.