Alcohol use and hypertension. Clinical considerations and implications.
Alcohol abuse is a more frequent contributor to hypertension than is generally appreciated. Although hypertension is transitory in most alcoholics and may not be evident after a short period of abstinence, it is potentially dangerous. Paroxysms of hypertension might result in target-organ damage. Hypertension may be the causal link to the increased incidence of stroke and coronary heart disease observed in problem drinkers as well as a contributor to the pathogenesis of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Because of its transitory nature, however, alcohol-associated hypertension may, regrettably , be dismissed as inconsequential. Thus, a major potential cause of cardiovascular morbidity may go untreated.
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002310:Cardiomyopathy, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D013997:Time Factors