A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I was once opportuned to work closely with medical doctors researching into cancer at the cancer registry unit, pathology department of the university college hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Oyo State,2 Nigeria. I was employed to help these medical doctors in the collection and storage of data on patients with reported and diagnosed cases of cancer. This happened when I graduated freshly from college.
I was more than surprised and shocked to discover that more than 85% of reported cases of Hepatoma(Carcinoma of the liver) or cancer of the liver are patients who normally consumes high quantity of alcohol regularly.
This experience and discovery helped me to take a personal decision to avoid alcohol by all means. If you are the type that consumes alcohol regularly; please try as much as possible to reduce your intake to the bareset minimum or avoid it altogether.
Apart from the fact that alcohol can cause cancer of the liver, it can also lead to disruption of the normal metabolic and physiologic functions of the liver. It may lead to liver congestion, liver cirrhosis and an elevated blood pressure which is the main focus of this write-up.
MAIN EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON BLOOD PRESSURE
There is no gainsaying the fact that excess weight and fat put a lot of pressure on the arteries and ultimately on the heart. Remember that alcohol is not made of ordinary liquid , Rather it is a liquid that contains a lot of calories. Hence, consuming excess alcohol usually cause an increase in body mass or weight. This increase in weight usually result in an increase pressure on the arteries leading to an indirect elevation or rise in blood pressure.
One of the greatest functions of the liver is the detoxification of poisonous substances produced within our bodies or that find their way into our bodies. Excessive intake of alcohol tend to interfere and disrupts this basic function of the liver. Hence the liver will not be able to metabolize hormones such as angiotensin and renin. It has been scientifically provened that this two hormones are extremely important in the maintenance of blood pressure.
Excessive intake of alcohol usually overload and overwork the detoxifying mechanism of the liver. Hence, the unique ability of the liver to detoxify blood become disturbed and hampered. As a result more oxidising and damaging substances tend to accumulate in the circulating blood. This can easily harm or have an adverse effect on the blood vessels. Moreover, as the liver is busy processing and metabolising alcohol, its inability or reduced ability to metabolise fats in our diet may lead to high cholesterol level and hence a high blood pressure.
On a final note, it must be mentioned that high blood pressure is a precursor to other numerous problems of the heart, cardiovascular system, the brain and the central nervous system
