how does excessive drinking cause a stroke
Answers
It is not only possible, but also probable.
Having four or five drinks a day, no matter how socially graceful and acceptable at the Country Club, or any other social setting, is heavy drinking.
The risk of high blood pressure is 50 percent higher in persons drinking three or four drinks a day than in non-drinkers. Hypertension is a major risk factor for cerebro-vascular hemorrhage (stroke), as well as myocardial infarction (heart attack).
The four or five drinks your mother consumed are associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke.
This kind of commonly fatal, or always disabling stroke, is much more common in female heavy drinkers than in men who drink an equal amount.
As she now re-enters her world of social functioning it is imperative that she refrain from alcohol. Her risk of suffering another alcohol-related stroke is the same, or maybe even greater, than before.