Symptoms

The reactions of the human body to alcohol consumption is very individual. For many people, drinking alcohol after a few hours can cause violent heart palpitations, outbreaks of sweating and sleep disorders. This can occur even with small amounts of alcohol, such as a glass of wine, and is associated with a high level of suffering for many of those affected.

This reaction increases in frequency, especially with increasing age. Tachycardia and nausea are symptoms that can occur after the consumption of alcohol. When alcohol is consumed, substances are released in the body which have an emetogenic effect.

This means that these substances trigger nausea and vomiting. These are typical symptoms of intoxication, especially when high amounts of alcohol are consumed. Alcohol intolerance can also manifest itself through palpitations and nausea.

The symptoms of intoxication are then usually faster and more pronounced with lower amounts of the alcohol consumed than in people who do not have an alcohol intolerance. Nausea and palpitations caused by alcohol consumption can also be aggravated by the simultaneous intake of other drugs or medication. The simultaneous intake of other drugs while drinking alcohol is sometimes life-threatening and should therefore be avoided at all costs.

Alcohol consumption should also be avoided when taking some drugs, such as antidepressants or antipsychotics (psychotropic drugs and alcohol). If you suffer from nausea and palpitations caused by alcohol consumption, there is basically only one thing that helps: plenty of sleep and sufficient fluid in the form of water. As soon as the intoxication subsides, the symptoms also subside.

In the case of very severe nausea and vomiting, however, it is essential to ensure that the person concerned does not vomit while asleep. This can lead to obstruction of the airways and, in the worst case, death by suffocation. If the person is no longer sufficiently conscious and responsive and also vomits, it is advisable to consult a doctor.

Some people react with nightly heart palpitations even when consuming a small amount of alcohol. Why the strongly accelerated heart rate occurs mainly at night depends on two factors in particular: Firstly, alcohol is simply the most frequently consumed in the evening. Since alcohol can cause the blood vessels to dilate, as described above, the heart has to beat faster to prevent the blood pressure from falling.

The second factor is related to the autonomic nervous system. The vegetative nervous system, i.e. the nervous system that cannot be influenced arbitrarily, is composed of the sympathetic nervous system (activation of the body) and the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation and rest of the body), which are opponents and are usually in a state of equilibrium. For example, while the sympathetic nervous system increases the heart rate and the strength of the heart, the parasympathetic nervous system reduces both parameters.At night, the parasympathetic nervous system predominates at the heart, so your heart rate is lower at night than during the day.

Alcohol increases the effect of the parasympathetic nervous system: the heart beats more slowly and you feel sleepy. However, as soon as the alcohol is broken down (approx. 0.1 to 0.2 per thousand per hour), the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system suddenly drops and the body-activating effects of the sympathetic nervous system outweigh the effects of alcohol.

The heart races and you wake up. The latter also explains the fact that although alcohol helps you fall asleep better, it also usually disturbs your ability to sleep through the night. Insomnia and heart rhythm disturbances are connected in a kind of vicious circle.

Roughly speaking, too little sleep can lead to cardiac arrhythmia and cardiac arrhythmia leads to restless or reduced sleep. If one notices the cardiac dysrhythmia, a stress reaction is set in motion in the body that prevents one from falling asleep. Those affected notice that their heart is not functioning properly, and they start to worry – which in the worst case can even lead to fear of death – which makes it impossible to fall asleep in this context.

In the same way, too little sleep in combination with alcohol consumption leads to the development of rhythm disturbances. Under the term “Holiday-Heart-Syndrome” exactly this connection is recorded. It particularly occurs with young people who combine long party nights with little sleep and increased alcohol consumption.

Heart rhythm disturbances and high blood pressure are two things that influence each other and are often found in combination. In general, patients with high blood pressure – a so-called hypertension – also have a greater potential for arrhythmia. However, in the presence of cardiac dysrhythmia, there is also a reflexive increase in blood pressure as an expression of the stress reaction that the body is currently experiencing.