High blood pressure risk may be reduced by 1 home change, study suggests

High blood pressure risk may be reduced by 1 home change, study suggests The study was conducted by UCL and found that a change in your home could be as influential a factor in developing high blood pressure as diet Lowering the risk of high blood pressure could be as simple as increasing the thermostat in your home, new research suggests. Scientists from University College London have argued that household temperature could be just as significant a factor in causing high blood pressure as other elements like diet. The study, published in the Journal of Hypertension, found a clear link between cooler indoor temperatures and raised blood pressure levels. The research showed that for every 1°C drop in indoor temperature, there was a measurable rise in blood pressure – 0.48 mmHg in systolic and 0.45 mmHg in diastolic readings. When untreated, high blood pressure – also called hypertension – can result in more serious health conditions including strokes, heart attacks and vascular dementia. Dr Stephen Jivraj, the study's senior author, said: "Our research has helped to explain the higher rates of hypertension, as well as potential increases in deaths from stroke and heart disease, in the winter months. "Indoor temperatures should be taken more seriously in diagnosis and treatment decisions, and in public health messages. Among other diet and lifestyle changes people can make to reduce high blood pressure, our findings suggest that keeping homes a bit warmer could also be beneficial." Co-author Hongde Zhao, from UCL's Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, added: "We would suggest that clinicians take indoor temperature into consideration, as it could affect a diagnosis if someone has borderline hypertension, and people with cooler homes may also need higher doses of medications." The findings further highlight the significance of keeping homes sufficiently warm during the winter months to help ward off spikes in blood pressure and the associated cardiovascular risks, reports Surrey Live. While the study stops short of pinpointing an exact ideal indoor temperature, the researchers recommend keeping living spaces at a minimum of 21°C in order to benefit your health. Risk factors of high blood pressure According to the NHS, the following are major risk factors of high blood pressure: - Age – you're more likely to get high blood pressure as you get older - having close relatives with high blood pressure - your ethnicity (people of Black African, Black Caribbean or South Asian ethnic backgrounds are most at risk) - having an unhealthy diet (especially one high in salt) - being overweight - smoking - drinking too much alcohol - feeling stressed over a long period Blood pressure can be checked at your local GP surgery or with a home blood pressure monitor. Anyone aged under 80 is considered to have high blood pressure if their reading is either: - 140/90 or higher when checked by a healthcare professional, or - 135/85 or higher when checked at home The health service recommends reducing your risk by eating a healthy, balanced diet, taking regular exercise or losing weight.