With the cold, the blood pressure increases: that is why and with what effects

Covering well during the colder months does not just protect us from cold, but it also helps us to control the blood pressure. Low temperatures limit blood vessels by raising blood pressure, as more pressure is needed to push blood into the veins and narrow arteries. Although cold weather vasoconstriction is one of the survival mechanisms for conserving heat and maintaining body temperature, it creates less space for blood circulation.

Normally, blood pressure, which is the force with which blood grows on the walls of the arteries, increases and decreases during the day. However, if it stays high for a long time, it can damage the heart, increases the risk of stroke and other health problems. In 1961, researcher Geoffrey Rose studied seasonal variations in blood pressure and found that cold could increase it. "External temperature is an important factor in the observed seasonal fluctuations in blood pressure, that is, higher in winter and more low in summerSaid Ragavendra Baliga, a cardiologist at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University, Baliga added that the low ambient temperature is strongly badociated with an increase in hospitalizations for heart attacks acute, stroke and increased cardiovascular mortality.

The increase in blood pressure with cold depends on variables such as the current temperature, the wind, the duration of the period of exposure to cold weather and its state of health. Researchers at the University of Florida discovered that they were exposed to a temperature of + 11 ° C for only 5 minutes can cause a significant increase in blood pressure. Other studies have shown that cold can increase blood pressure regardless of age or place where you live, but that effects tend to be greater with age. A 2-year French study of 8,800 people aged 65 or older showed the greatest increases over the winter in people 80 years or older.

"In general, blood pressure in the elderly is already higher than that of younger people, so that a heat loss is more likely to increase the pressure of an older person beyond the limit value.", Explains Lu Shi, professor of public health sciences at Clemson University, even people already suffering from hypertension are more exposed to health problems."If people who have heart disease and take hypertensive medications come out with very cold temperatures or decide to shovel the snow, they may start having symptoms such as breathlessness and chest constriction", Added Nieca Goldberg, director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health at the University of New York.

It is possible that other weather and environmental conditions affect blood pressure, but the increase seems to be more related to a change in temperature and not to sun or rain, experts say. "There is always more evidence of the fact that it smog can increase blood pressure because it exposes the body to fine dust. In addition, all weather conditions, such as heat, that trigger the stress reaction it could increase blood pressureShi concluded, to combat the effects of low temperatures on pressure, doctors advise stay warm and of monitor blood pressure levels, especially in the elderly and those already suffering from hypertension. Also the internal temperature of the house in winter, it affects hypertension.