Excessive drinking​ linked to jump in high blood pressure deaths during COVID pandemic, CDC report says

Excessive drinking was linked to a jump in high blood pressure deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

In the report, out Friday, researchers found the estimated average number of hypertension deaths from excessive alcohol use was 51.6% higher in 2020 through 2021 than in 2016 through 2017. This increase amounted to about 21,137 deaths annually, compared to 13,941 for the respective time frames. 

The World Health Organization declared the COVID outbreak a pandemic in March 2020. In May 2023, it declared an end to the global pandemic emergency.