Treatment of seasonal blood pressure (BP) variations is an important factor for prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) through hypertension management, reported a recent study published in the ‘Nature Journal of Hypertension Research’.

The study was a literature review which aimed to assess the current evidence of seasonal variations of blood pressure and recommendations for suppressing excessive seasonal blood pressure changes, as part of a hypertension management regime.

The key findings were as follows:

• Elevation of BP during the daytime in winter is attributed to cold temperatures.
• Elevation of BP during night time in summer is considered to be related to physical discomfort and poor sleep quality due to the hot weather.
• The winter elevation of daytime BP is likely to be associated with increased incidence of CVD events in compared to other seasons.
• Management of seasonal blood pressure variations lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Thus, the findings of the study indicated that hypertension management regime must include measures to suppress seasonal variations of BP for prevention of CVD.