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Hemodynamic Effects of a Single Moderate Dose of Alcohol in Elderly Subjects:
David J. Stott, Marjorie Dutton, Gordon D. Murray, Brian O. Williams, Gordon T. McInnes
The effects of 0.5 g ethanol/kg body weight and of an iso-volumic control drink were compared in eight normotensive subjects aged 70-96 years. Blood alcohol concentration reached a mean (± SEM) maximum of 44.4 ± 5.0 mg/dl at 50 minutes after the start of drinking. Compared to control, alcohol increased mean sitting and standing heart rates by 3.4 ± 1.3 (p = .08) and 5.4 ± 1.9 (p < .05) beats/minute, respectively; mean venous haematocrit rose by 3.9 ± 1.3% (p < .05). There were no significant changes in sitting or standing systolic or diastolic blood pressures after alcohol compared to the control drink. A single moderate dose of alcohol has only minor haemodynamic effects in normotensive elderly subjects. The rise in heart rate after alcohol may be a reflex response that helps to maintain blood pressure in the face of reduced circulating plasma volume due to alcohol-induced diuresis. (J. Stud. Alcohol 52: 377-379, 1991)
