People suffering from high blood pressure may need to start taking higher doses of medication during the winter months. A study conducted at the University of Guadalajara's Cardiovascular Research Unit, by Dr. Salvador Fonseca-Reyes and José Parra-Carrillo, found that only 32% of patients they were monitoring had controlled blood pressure during the winter months. This was compared to the 50% who were found to have controlled blood pressures during spring and summer. Due to this, it may now be necessary to increase doses of blood pressure medications during the winter months, the coldest months of the year.
Temperatures in Guadalajara can range from 6 degrees C (during the winter months) to 34 degrees (during the summer months). The highest blood pressure levels were found in autumn and winter. Weight gain or different adherence to pharmacological treatments during the winters months as a reason for having found higher levels of blood pressure have been not been found and therefore have been disregarded until future evidence is found.
Previous studies have found that the timing of taking hypertension medication may be a factor in keeping down blood pressure and these findings could lead to an increase in prescriptions during fall and winter months for those with high blood pressure.
[Source: Reuters]
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