Key result
Acute alcohol ingestion reduced arterial stiffness (P<0.01), whereas chronic excessive consumption (>21 units/week) increased augmentation index (12 vs 5; P<0.05) and blood pressure.
Why the study?
Does acute and chronic alcohol consumption affect arterial stiffness and blood pressure?
Observational (n=324)
Does acute and chronic alcohol consumption affect arterial stiffness and blood pressure?
Alcohol has divergent effects on arterial stiffness, with acute ingestion reducing it and chronic excessive consumption increasing it.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May warrant caution with chronic heavy intake in hypertension; hypothesis-generating for time-dependent vascular effects and needs prospective confirmation.
To study the effects of alcohol on large artery function we measured arterial wave reflection in the aorta as augmentation index (AI%) by applanation tonometry in 324 subjects (18 to 86 years, 223 male). In eight subjects, when ingested acutely, red wine containing alcohol (0.8 g/kg), but not dealcoholized wine, reduced (P < .01) blood pressure (BP), pulse wave velocity, and AI%. Men with an excessive alcohol consumption (>21 units/week) had a higher AI% (12 +/- 2 v 5 +/- 2, P < .05) and BP, particularly aortic systolic, than did those with a lesser intake. This study suggests that alcohol when ingested acutely may reduce arterial stiffness, although alcohol when ingested chronically, in excess, increases it.
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Azra Mahmud (2002) reported an observational. Alcohol (acute and chronic) vs. Dealcoholized wine (acute); lesser intake (chronic) was evaluated on Augmentation index (AI%) (p=< .05). Acute alcohol ingestion reduced arterial stiffness (P<0.01), whereas chronic excessive consumption (>21 units/week) increased augmentation index (12 vs 5; P<0.05) and blood pressure.
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