Cold Weather May Pose Challenges to Treating High Blood Pressure

According to the American Heart Association’s 2023 Statistical Update, nearly half of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure. Previous research found that blood pressure varies with the seasons of the year. Most of this variation is in systolic blood pressure — the top number in a blood pressure reading that gauges the pressure in/against blood vessels during heartbeats. The study authors sought to understand whether blood pressure control, defined in this study as less than 140/90 mm Hg among patients with hypertension, varied by season.

“Despite the smaller degree of systolic blood pressure variation in comparison to previous studies on seasonality in blood pressure, we were surprised to observe a large degree of change in blood pressure control between winter and summer months,” said lead study author Robert B. Barrett. 

The researchers reviewed electronic health records for 60,676 adults treated for hypertension between July 2018 and June 2023 at six health care centers. Each participant remained on their originally prescribed classes of antihypertensive drugs throughout the review period. Seasonal blood pressure readings were analyzed to assess variations in blood pressure control during the winter vs. summer months as part of an American Medical Association-supported, quality-improvement program for clinicians and health care centers. Study participants were an average age of 62 years old; 52.3% identified as white race; 59.7% identified as female.

The analysis of the health records found that, on average, participants’ systolic blood pressure increased by up to 1.7 mm Hg in the winter months compared to the summer months. In addition, they found that blood pressure control rates decreased by up to 5% during the winter months.

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Sources:

American Heart Association. “Cold weather may pose challenges to treating high blood pressure.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 September 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230907130418.htm>.

Materials provided by American Heart Association. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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