Independent Nurse: Hot weather causes raised blood pressure at night in elderly people.(research)(Brief Article)

Hot weather is associated with raised night-time systolic blood pressure (BP) in elderly patients being treated for hypertension, according to Italian research.

Study lead Professor Pietro Modesti, a professor of general medicine at the University of Florence, warned that summertime downward titration of antihypertensive drugs, which is often done to take account of seasonal variation in BP, could be to blame. 'The increase in night-time BP in hot weather could have effects on cardiovascular events,' he added.

The researchers followed 6,404 patients with hypertension over four years and recorded ambulatory BP every 15 minutes during the day and every 20 …