Q: Can being in a cold room and taking your blood pressure result in a noticeable increase compared with a warmer room? I am thinking of the peripheral vasoconstriction vs vasodilation effect
A: Blood vessels constrict in response to cold to help maintain body heat. This can increase blood pressure but within the normal range. Likewise, blood vessels dilate when you get hot to help the body get rid of heat. This can lower blood pressure but it should remain normal. If you take your pressure in a super air-conditioned room, it is likely to be slightly higher than in a overly warm room. However, with prolonged exposure to extreme heat or cold, blood pressure may go way out of control in a last effort attempt of the body to preserve function and prevent death.
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That is a good question, I just came back from a yoga class and for some reason the room was very cold 61, when I got home my pressure was 166 over 55 I am hoping that is the reason why it was so high.
I just tested this out tonight. Resting BP inside was 105/57 tonight and when I went outside and stood out in the cold air and came back inside it was 119/61 so a slight increase but not much. It’s hard to say if that was the reason but since you were active in yoga it may have increased due to exercise but I would take more readings before and after exercise to see how you respond to that. I can say that I personally see a slight increase immediately after exercise then both my BP and pulse drop quickly about 5 minutes after.
I stood outside in the cold talking with my friend before he left after the holidays, came back inside and took my BP and it jumped way up to 178/110 after being around 116/61 earlier in the day. I’m not sure if it was the cold air or the higher sodium meal (that I should have avoided) that caused this spike.
My BP is higher in the morning and at nite, around noon or 1 my bp is anout 116 to 120 over 56 is this problem, is this high BP
If you are not used to high sodium meals BP can rise after consumption of such a meal and should come down again to normal levels once the sodium is out of your system. I am sure you did not feel too well after either. It is your body’s reaction to say: “Why did you do this to me?!”
116-120/56 is a great number for midday. I think it typically rises for everyone during the peak of the day. My doc said that’s when adrenaline levels are the highest.