Blood Pressure and Weather
What's the connection?
The study included nearly 9,000 people aged 65 and older. They were examined in different seasons and therefore at different temperatures. On average, the systolic value was about 5 mmHg higher in winter than in the summer months.
If participants had been classified as hypertensive (patients with high blood pressure) based on their measured values, one third would have been affected in winter, while in summer only one quarter would have been.
People over 80 are particularly affected by these weather-related changes in blood pressure.
Why does this happen?
In cold the opposite happens: to protect the body from losing heat, the peripheral blood vessels and capillaries tighten, so less blood flows to the surface the remaining blood has to be carried at higher pressure. For people with severe hypertension this can be dangerous even the risk of a heart attack increases in winter.
Sources:
This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 04/2024).
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.
Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.
