Alcohol Linked With High Blood Pressure

May 8, 2003 -- A drink or two at happy hour -- or with dinner -- may be associated with a higher risk of having high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. That's the finding from a large study done on Chinese men and women presented at an American Heart Association meeting.

The study involved nearly 12,000 men and women in China between 25 and 54 years old. Researchers compared data on age, smoking, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, alcohol consumption, and blood pressure.

Those who drank 20 grams (about two glasses of wine) or more daily had a greater risk of high blood pressure than those who abstained.

More drinks had even greater impact. People who drank 60 grams (about six glasses of wine) daily had double the risk of high blood pressure as people who didn't drink at all.

SOURCE: American Heart Association's 4th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, Washington, D.C., May 8-10, 2003.