The Seasonal Variation of Blood Pressure in Patients with Essential Hypertension

Abstract

We examined the role of dietary electrolytes and humoral factors in causing seasonal changes in blood pressure. Normal subjects had no seasonal difference in blood pressure, although urinary sodium and norepinephrine were significantly higher in winter than in summer. In patients with essential hypertension blood pressure, urinary sodium and norepinephrine excretion and plasma norepinephrine concentration were significantly higher in winter. Plasma renin activity, plasma and urinary aldosterone and urinary kallikrein excretion were not significantly different between the two seasons in both normal subjects and hypertensive patients. In conclusions, the blood pressure of patients with essential hypertension has a seasonal variation with higher pressures in the winter than in the summer. Increased sympathetic nervous activity and an increased load of sodium presented to the kidney for excretion may be contributing factors in the rise in blood pressure in winter in patients with essential hypertension.

Visit-to-visit variability in blood pressure over a 1-year period is a marker of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in treated hypertensive patients

“…Seasonal variation in arterial blood pressures has previously been demonstrated; [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] blood pressure is generally higher in the winter than in the summer. We previously reported the highest level of SBP is observed in February, and the lowest level of SBP is observed in August in healthy elderly subjects based on home measurements of blood pressures.…”

“…In other words, the month in which the highest level of SBP was observed was different from that in previous reports. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]31 However, the present study used the SBP at an outpatient clinic and included treated hypertensive patients. These differences in methods of blood pressure measurement and study participants may have caused this discrepancy between the present study and previous studies.…”

“…9 This is likely because arterial stiffening due to aging or hypertension leads to LV hypertrophy or LV interstitial fibrosis, thereby producing LV diastolic dysfunction. 10,11 Seasonal variation in arterial blood pressures has been demonstrated; [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] blood pressures are higher in the winter than in the summer. Studies in older adults 20,21 have shown that a 10-mm Hg rise in systolic blood pressure (SBP) is associated with an approximately 10% increase in the risk of death from stroke and ischemic heart disease.…”

The relationships between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability and renal and endothelial function in chronic kidney disease

“…There is evidence that seasonal variation in BP is higher during winter than in the summer. 28 Larger-scale prospective trials are needed to better assess the causal relationships between alterations in visit-to-visit BPV and progression of renal dysfunction or endothelial dysfunction in CKD patients.…”

Seasonal variation in haemodynamics and blood pressure-regulating hormones

“…There is also evidence that seasonal variation occurs for BP-regulating hormones such as plasma norepinephrine (PNE) [8][9][10] and plasma epinephrine (PE), 9,10 which are higher in winter than in summer. On the other hand, there is little information regarding seasonal effects on plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone (PA).…”