Does alcohol raise blood pressure?
Yes, it does, over time and often the next day. A couple of drinks lower your pressure for some hours, and high doses then raise it from about 13 hours on. Regular drinking raises the risk of hypertension. Cutting back helps most in people who drink heavily.
The first day
In a 2020 Cochrane review, researchers pooled trials that measured pressure for up to a day after drinking.
| Dose | In the first 6 hours | 7 to 12 hours | 13 hours or more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low, under 14 g (about one standard drink) | No change | Too little data | Too little data |
| Medium, 14 to 28 g | 5.6/4.0 mmHg lower | No change | No change |
| High, over 30 g | Lower | Lower | 3.7/2.4 mmHg higher |
Because pressure drops and then rises, a number taken after dinner with wine can look good, and the number next morning can look worse. Most of the people in the trials were healthy men, so the results for women are less certain.
Over years
| Daily alcohol, compared with 12 g | Risk of hypertension |
|---|---|
| None | 11 percent lower |
| 24 g | 11 percent higher |
| 36 g | 22 percent higher |
| 48 g | 33 percent higher |
These come from a 2024 pooled analysis of 23 cohort studies. A cohort study can show a link but can’t prove cause, though the trials on cutting back point the same way.
What cutting back does
Researchers pooled trials of cutting back and found that how much your pressure drops depends on how much you drink now.
- Two or fewer drinks a day: cutting back made no significant change in pressure.
- More than two drinks a day: cutting back lowered pressure, and more so the more people drank.
- Six or more drinks a day: cutting by about half lowered pressure by 5.5/4.0 mmHg.
If you drink heavily every day, talk to a doctor before you stop suddenly, because withdrawal can be dangerous.
What the guideline says
The 2025 US guideline advises adults with elevated pressure or hypertension who drink to stay at or under 2 standard drinks a day for men and 1 for women.
Test it on yourself
The numbers from the trials are averages, and you may react more or less than that. A home cuff can show how alcohol affects you.
- Do a seven-day home week while drinking the way you usually do. Note which mornings come after a day you drank.
- Cut back for four weeks, or stop if you drink lightly.
- Repeat the same week and compare the two averages in the home average tool.
Keep your other habits the same during the test, and keep taking prescribed medication as directed. Cutting back on alcohol is one of several things that lower blood pressure, and you can see how they compare in the how-to.
If you have chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, weakness, numbness, vision change or trouble speaking, call emergency services, whatever your cuff shows.
4 sources
- Tasnim S et al., Effect of alcohol on blood pressure, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020cochrane.org
- Cecchini M et al., Alcohol Intake and Risk of Hypertension, Hypertension, 2024pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Roerecke M et al., reduction in alcohol and blood pressure, Lancet Public Health, 2017pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 2025 AHA/ACC Guideline for High Blood Pressure in Adults, 2025ahajournals.org
