DRINKING HISTORY IS RELATED TO PERSISTENT BLOOD-PRESSURE DYSREGULATION IN POSTWITHDRAWAL ALCOHOLICS

We have previously demonstrated that alcoholics with transitory (<72 hr) elevations in blood pressure (BP) during withdrawal continue to show residual cardiovascular dysregulation up to 4 weeks of abstinence. The present study replicates and extends these findings. Alcoholic inpatients were divided into three subgroups (ns = 14) based on BP during the first 72 hr of withdrawal: transitory hypertensives (tHTs; BP > 160/95 mm Hg), transitory borderline hypertensives (tBHs; 140/90 less than or equal to BP < 160/95), and normotensives (NTs; all BPs < 140/90). All patients had normal resting pressures after 72 hr of withdrawal. At 3-4 weeks postadmission, the alcoholics and 14 nonalcoholic controls (CONTs) were tested at rest and during a 5-min handgrip task. The tHTs showed an exaggerated systolic and diastolic BP response to handgrip compared with NTs and CONTs, with tBHs intermediate (ps < 0.05). Drinking history showed the tHTs had the highest reported level of alcohol consumption and severity of withdrawal symptoms (ps < 0.05). Regression analyses indicated that consumption of hard liquor was the variable most predictive of admission BPs; further, parental history of hypertension potentiated this relationship for systolic BP. Age and consumption of nicotine and caffeine were not significant predictors of admission BP. The results suggest a persistent cardiovascular dysregulation in alcoholics showing transient hypertensive withdrawal BPs. These alcoholics may be at increased risk for future alcohol-related cardiovascular disorder.