Cardiovascular and aortic wave reflection responses to evening binge alcohol consumption

Evening binge drinking contributes to sleep disruption and autonomic dysregulation that persist into the following morning. However, its impact on morning arterial stiffness and aortic wave reflection remains unknown.
Researchers hypothesised that heart rate (HR), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), aortic augmentation index (AIx), and aortic pulsatile load (APL) would be elevated immediately after binge drinking at night (Study 1) and the following morning (Study 2).
Thirty-three participants [18 females, 15 males; aged 25 ± 1 yr; body mass index (BMI): 27 ± 1 kg/m²] completed binge alcohol (equivalent to 4-5 drinks) and fluid control protocols. Study 1 examined cardiovascular responses during resting baseline and within 30 minutes of evening alcohol consumption, while Study 2 examined cardiovascular responses within 15 minutes of waking the morning after binge alcohol or fluid control.
In Study 1, HR and APL increased after the final dose of alcohol but decreased with fluid control. In Study 2, morning HR (63 ± 2 vs. 57 ± 1 beats/min), APL (2,060 ± 82 vs. 1,857 ± 66 a.u.), and AIx normalized to 75 beats/min (AIx@75) (6.5 ± 2.4 vs. 2.9 ± 2.5%) were elevated, whereas unadjusted AIx remained unchanged after binge alcohol compared with fluid control. cfPWV was not affected by binge alcohol acutely (Study 1) or the following morning (Study 2).
The results show that evening binge drinking causes immediate increases in HR and APL, and the next morning sees increases in HR, APL, and AIx@75. These findings emphasise physiological mechanisms that could contribute to the well-known links between binge drinking and increased cardiovascular risk.
Increases in aortic wave reflection and aortic pulsatile load are recognised contributors to hypertension, cardiovascular risk, and pulsatile stress to end organs. The authors state that, to their knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that evening binge alcohol consumption raises heart rate, aortic pulsatile load, and aortic augmentation index the following morning compared with fluid control. These findings emphasise the harmful overnight cardiovascular effects of binge alcohol consumption in young adults.
Source: Thivierge GS, Greenlund IM, Bigalke JA, Smoot CA, Carter JR, & Durocher JJ. (2025) Cardiovascular and aortic wave reflection responses to evening binge alcohol consumption. American Journal of Physiology and Heart Circulation Physiology, 329(3):H629-H635. doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00466.2025.