I’M NOT SURE I REGARD AN INCREASE OF 1.24 IN BLOOD PRESSURE TO BE SIGNIFICANT: Even one alcoholic drink a day linked to higher blood pressure. And even at higher doses, the effect isn’t all that dramatic: “Compared with nondrinkers, the study team determined that men and women who drank an average of 12 grams of alcohol a day saw their systolic (top number) blood pressure number rise by 1.25 mm Hg. (Twelve grams of alcohol is a little less than that in a 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 1.5-ounce shot of spirits.). Those who consumed about four times that average amount, or 48 grams of alcohol daily, saw their systolic number rise by 4.9 mm Hg, the researchers said.”

But there you are, make of it what you will.