Affiliation:
1. Cardiology Clinic, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. Hypertension Center, 3rd Department of Medicine, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract
The most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide, is hypertension. Although most cases of hypertension are thought to be essential, the multifactorial associations of the environmental influence on blood pressure seem to play an important role and should be more closely investigated. This review attempts to focus on the recent literature that examines the environmental effects on arterial blood pressure and its management. Seasonal variability and the role of ambient temperature, either occupational or recreational noise pollution, as well as obesity due to environment-caused dietary habits, are recognized as important risk factors, affecting the onset as well as the regulation of hypertension. Furthermore, the effects of seasonal fluctuations in blood pressure, noise pollution, and obesity seem to share a similar pathogenesis, and as such to all further react together, leading to increased blood pressure. The activation of the autonomous nervous system plays a key role and causes an increase in stress hormones that generates oxidative stress on the vascular system and, thus, vasoconstriction. In this review, by focusing on the association of the environmental impact with arterial blood pressure, we come to the question of whether most cases of hypertension—if not all—should, indeed, be considered primary or secondary.
Reference78 articles.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999–2019 (2023, November 26). CDC WONDER Online Database Website, Available online: https://wonder.cdc.gov/.
2. World Health Organization (2023, November 26). Hypertension. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension.
3. Ostchega, Y., Fryar, C.D., Nwankwo, T., and Nguyen, D.T. (2020). Hypertension Prevalence among Adults Aged 18 and over: United States, 2017–2018, National Center for Health Statistics. NCHS Data Brief, no 364.
4. Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: A pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants;Zhou;Lancet,2021
5. May Measurement Month 2017: Results of 39 national blood pressure screening programmes;Poulter;Eur. Heart J. Suppl.,2019