Heart rate day after drinking alcohol

[MarathonChris]

I am a data geek so I like tracking the HR data from my Fitbit.  I am an runner and I log my average heartrate during my runs as well as my resting heart rate for that day to get a % HR number.  It lets me know how hard I am working.

One thing I did notice about my resting heart rate is that it would elevate 1 - 3 bpm for the day after drinking alcohol (for me usually a couple of glasses of wine) the night before.  The HR would stay slightly elevated for a day or two, then drop back down again.

Has anyone else noticed a casual correlation between resting heart rate and low to moderate alcohol consumption?

[Amypr]

Hi,

I have noticed this too and was hoping it wasn't just me.

I'm an offshore worker so I go to work for 4/5/6 weeks at a time (with equal time off at home) where this is no alcohol. I notice when I'm at work, my resting heart rate slowly drops down (over a few weeks) to about 58 bpm. When I get home, however, because of my lifestyle of eating out and drinking for the weeks I am not at work (probably combined with a lot less exercise too!) my resting heart rate jumps within a few days up to the high 60s.

Every time I go to work I see this cycle repeat and it's not until I made a conscious effort to cut down alcohol when home that I started to notice little spikes on the days after I had been drinking. 

[gingergrowsup]

Wow what a difference! Well done!

[Esya]

I just stopped drinking two weeks ago, before which I would drink during the weekends. This post provides me with extra motivation that I made the right choice for me and to keep going without alcohol  .

[fatdogtavern]

When I drink about three drinks in a night my RHR rises.  During the hours of 12 midnight till 3am the rate will hover around 80. When I'm not drinking it hovers around 60 between 12 midnight and 3am. Big difference. Too bad I enjoy a glass of wine or a martini so much!

[Jj2339]

I don't drink during the week, but on weekends I'll have a beer or glass of wine or two at night.  I have a seesaw pattern to my heart rate.  I can get down to 59 by end of week for testing heart rate, but we soon as weekend hits I'll move up to about 64 BPM.   If I don't drink over the weekend, it stays low.  Not sure if this is a bad thing, normal thing, or what?   It seems to be true, it's regular like clockwork, and since my RHR never gets too high, I'm not super worried, should I be?

[drbowser]

I see the exact same thing - my resting heart rate is always lower when I do not drink alcohol. I asked my doctor and he said it was normal for alcohol to impact people in this way. Part of the reason for me is that I am awake much longer (I wake up after about two hours of sleep and stay awake for a couple of hours) so my heart rate never goes as low. Since I do not sleep as well when my heart rate is elevated, I decided to give up wine.

[Archie44]

My resting heart rate was at 53 at the beginning of March.  I started drinking my beverage of choice...scotch and drambuie.  Now, my RHR is at 70 and am wondering if alcohol is the culprit.  I also work out 5x per week for 30-45 minutes.  I have put on a little extra muscle and about 8 pounds.

So, I am going to stop all alcohol and see if m RHR goes down.

[imnee]

If I drink daily my RHR will stay in the upper 70's. Stopping all together
and it drops to upper 50's.

[anais_b]

I don't drink often but i was out on saturday and had been drinking since 6pm. I got hope at 4am and went to bed. I woke up at 5am as my heart was racing. My fitbit said my heart rate was 171. So, definitely alcohol has effects on the heart. 

[fatdogtavern]

171? Wow. I really think that alcohol’s effects when sleeping can be super excelled when combined with a nightmare or a just a dream where you are exerting yourself, such as running. I woke up last night and knew my heart was pounding. I checked it and it was at 84. I rolled onto my back which lowers the rate. I lowered my arms from above my head (I usually sleep on my stomach with my arms under my pillow & head) to by my side and I took deep slow breathes for a few minutes. My heart rate dropped to 61. I’d had 4 drinks that night. I’ve got to cut back, but drinking is just so much fun!

[anais_b]

Defo agree with the dreams to because as it woke me up im sure i was dreaming i was running or rushing. I was staying in a caravan and left the blower heater on so was hot too which may have had something to do with it but i had drunk 10 double bacardi and lemonade. Also caffine can agfect it. My resting is 72 but if i drink a cup of tea it shoots up to 90 so the caffine and the heat can affect it but atleast im burning calories hey. Haha 

[Esya]

Drinking alcohol does impact your dreaming. Kinda miss those dreams since I stopped drinking 🙂 .

[Iamkelly]

Since quitting alcohol 4 days ago my heart rate has dropped by 8 beats per minute ! Down to 67 from 75

[ho0lee0h]

Everyone here is taking this too serious! Live life happy and enjoy it! If you want to have a drink or two to have a good time then do it. Stressing over your heart rate will only increase your body's stress. Be happy and enjoy your weekends or week nights. Fluctuations in your heart rate is normal. People here are assuming that a higher resting heart rate is bad for you, but anything 60-90 is fine and normal when resting. If you're below that then even better! I laugh at the posts that say your resting heart rate increases 3bpm from 55 to 58 after a night of drinking. Relax and enjoy life. You're healthy.

Source: My RHR fluctuates 68-78bpm all the time and had a period of PVCs. Saw a cardiologists and did all the tests and he said I'm stressing too much over my RHR. Changed my outlook on life. Stop looking at your RHR in detail and focus on life's beauties.

[fatdogtavern]

Fair advice, but in my family I am the oldest male in three generations on my mothers side. I just turned 54. My grandfather did everything wrong and died of a massive heart attack at 48. My only uncle did everything right and died of a massive heart attack at 49. I love life and enjoy it every day and that includes a glass or three of wine most days, but I am also acutely aware of anything related to my heart.

[fatdogtavern]

Fair advice, but in my family I am the oldest male in three generations on my mothers side. I just turned 54. My grandfather did everything wrong and died of a massive heart attack at 48. My only uncle did everything right and died of a massive heart attack at 49. I love life and enjoy it every day and that includes a glass or three of wine most days, but I am also acutely aware of anything related to my heart.

[Esya]

@fatdogtavern

Sounds like there are heart problems in your family and I am sorry to hear that. Sadly, no amount of healthy living can fully beat those kind of issues. And if you love life and enjoy it with wine, then do that. Nobody here is saying one should not drink, everyone has to make their own choices. But the better informed we are the better choices we can make. I actually enjoy my life more since I quit drinking as I find I have way more energy and need less sleep. My family respects my choice, but they will drink as that is what they enjoy more. A glass or 3 of wine most days is a lot though and does meet the theoretical definition of alcoholic (atleast for my country).

[Esya]

@ho0lee0h

I live life more happy and enjoy it more since I quit drinking. I have more energy and need less sleep. I am way more balanced and it is easier to deal with my anxiety. People talk about heart rate as that is something measurable. Studies also show large differences for liver values. I agree that 3 bpm difference is nothing to worry about, but I don't think people are. It just shows something is going on in your body and that drinking does have an effect. Drinking simply is not good for your body so some people chose to quit. It is like giving up pizza. Do you tell them to have pizza in the weekends when they try to lose weight?

I am not saying you should not drink, but we made a conscious choice not to drink, so please respect that as we respect your choice. I think everyone here is pretty relaxed and enjoying life, just in a different way from what you are used to.

[fatdogtavern]

I drink wine everyday because I LOVE to cook and wine pairs better with my food than a glass of water would. I just can’t imagine a grilled steak or lamb chops or pasta dish with milk, water or sparkling water and the non alcoholic wines are terrible. I try to walk 8 miles every day and I take a baby aspirin and fish oil and Coq10 daily as well. As one poster said earlier, 3 drinks a day probably makes me an alcoholic. I’m OK with that unless they ever outlaw wine! I get 8 hours of good sleep every night and have been retired for a while so I don’t have to go to work feeling sluggish the next morning. All that being said, I had 6 glasses of wine yesterday, 3 in the middle of the day because I had to fly and I hate flying. I feel great this morning though.

[fatdogtavern]

I drink wine everyday because I LOVE to cook and wine pairs better with my food than a glass of water would. I just can’t imagine a grilled steak or lamb chops or pasta dish with milk, water or sparkling water and the non alcoholic wines are terrible. I try to walk 8 miles every day and I take a baby aspirin and fish oil and Coq10 daily as well. As one poster said earlier, 3 drinks a day probably makes me an alcoholic. I’m OK with that unless they ever outlaw wine! I get 8 hours of good sleep every night and have been retired for a while so I don’t have to go to work feeling sluggish the next morning. All that being said, I had 6 glasses of wine yesterday, 3 in the middle of the day because I had to fly and I hate flying. I feel great this morning though.