JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Decrease of ambient temperature significantly increased office blood pressure, but few studies evaluated the effect of ambient temperature on home blood pressure (HBP).

Objective:

We aimed to investigate the relationship between short-term ambient temperature exposure and HBP.

Methods:

From 2009 to 2013, a total of 253 patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases who joined a telehealth care program in a university-affiliated hospital were enrolled. Blood pressure was measured at home by patients or their caregivers. Hourly meteorological data (including temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) of Taipei during the same time period were obtained from the Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan.

Results:

The mean patient age was 70.28 ± 13.79 years old, and 66.01% of patients were male. A total of 110,715 HBP measurements were collected. Ambient temperature had a linear negative effect on all three HBP parameters after adjusted for demographic and clinical factors and antihypertensive agents. A 1-Celcius-degree decrease was associated with increases of 0.5492 mm Hg in mean blood pressure (MBP), 0.6841 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (SBP), and 0.2709 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure (DBP). This temperature effect on HBP was less prominent in patients with diabetes or hypertension. Antihypertensive agents modified this negative effect of temperature on HBP to some extent, and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) had the most favorable results.

Conclusions:

Short-term exposure to low ambient temperature significantly increased HBP in patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases, and antihypertensive agents could modify this effect. Clinical Trial: N/A