Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Heart Journal logoLink to British Heart Journal
. 1993 Dec;70(6):520–523. doi: 10.1136/hrt.70.6.520

Temperature and risk factors for ischaemic heart disease in the Caerphilly prospective study.

P C Eldwood 1, A Beswick 1, J R O'Brien 1, S Renaud 1, R Fifield 1, E S Limb 1, D Bainton 1
PMCID: PMC1025382  PMID: 7506563

Abstract

OBJECTIVE--To examine the associations between air temperature and risk factors for ischaemic heart disease. METHOD--Data on risk factors are available from up to 2036 men in the Caerphilly Prospective Heart Disease Study. Daily temperatures were obtained from the Meteorological Office. Relations between these were examined by regression. RESULTS--The coldest month of the year has a mean temperature that is 16 degrees C lower than that in the warmest month. A fall in temperature of this magnitude is associated with higher blood pressures (by 3-5 mm Hg) and a lower concentration of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (by 0.08 mmol/l). The most important effects however, seem to be on the haemostatic system. Fibrinogen is 0.34 g/l higher in the coldest month than in the warmest (p < 0.001) and alpha 2 macroglobulin, a protein that inhibits fibrinolysis, is also raised. Platelet count is increased by 30% of a standard deviation and the sensitivity of platelets in whole blood to adenosine diphosphate is increased by cold. CONCLUSIONS--These effects on haemostasis, together with the effect on blood pressure, could explain a large part of the increase in ischaemic heart disease in the winter but are unlikely to explain much of the difference in mortality within different areas of England and Wales.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson T. W., Le Riche W. H. Cold weather and myocardial infarction. Lancet. 1970 Feb 7;1(7641):291–296. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(70)90651-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bainton D., Moore F., Sweetnam P. Temperature and deaths from ischaemic heart disease. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1977 Mar;31(1):49–53. doi: 10.1136/jech.31.1.49. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bull G. M. Meteorological correlates with myocardial and cerebral infarction and respiratory disease. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1973 May;27(2):108–113. doi: 10.1136/jech.27.2.108. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Elwood P. C., Beswick A. D., Sharp D. S., Yarnell J. W., Rogers S., Renaud S. Whole blood impedance platelet aggregometry and ischemic heart disease. The Caerphilly Collaborative Heart Disease Study. Arteriosclerosis. 1990 Nov-Dec;10(6):1032–1036. doi: 10.1161/01.atv.10.6.1032. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Elwood P. C., Renaud S., Sharp D. S., Beswick A. D., O'Brien J. R., Yarnell J. W. Ischemic heart disease and platelet aggregation. The Caerphilly Collaborative Heart Disease Study. Circulation. 1991 Jan;83(1):38–44. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.83.1.38. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. England R. L. Repair of the ligaments about the knee. Orthop Clin North Am. 1976 Jan;7(1):195–204. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gyllerup S., Lanke J., Lindholm L. H., Scherstén B. High coronary mortality in cold regions of Sweden. J Intern Med. 1991 Dec;230(6):479–485. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.1991.tb00478.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Keatinge W. R., Coleshaw S. R., Cotter F., Mattock M., Murphy M., Chelliah R. Increases in platelet and red cell counts, blood viscosity, and arterial pressure during mild surface cooling: factors in mortality from coronary and cerebral thrombosis in winter. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Nov 24;289(6456):1405–1408. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6456.1405. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kunes J., Tremblay J., Bellavance F., Hamet P. Influence of environmental temperature on the blood pressure of hypertensive patients in Montréal. Am J Hypertens. 1991 May;4(5 Pt 1):422–426. doi: 10.1093/ajh/4.5.422. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mackenbach J. P., Kunst A. E., Looman C. W. Seasonal variation in mortality in The Netherlands. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1992 Jun;46(3):261–265. doi: 10.1136/jech.46.3.261. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Martin J. F., Bath P. M., Burr M. L. Influence of platelet size on outcome after myocardial infarction. Lancet. 1991 Dec 7;338(8780):1409–1411. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)92719-i. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. ROSE G. Seasonal variation in blood pressure in man. Nature. 1961 Jan 21;189:235–235. doi: 10.1038/189235a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ridker P. M., Hennekens C. H. Hemostatic risk factors for coronary heart disease. Circulation. 1991 Mar;83(3):1098–1100. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.83.3.1098. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rose G. Cold weather and ischaemic heart disease. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1966 Apr;20(2):97–100. doi: 10.1136/jech.20.2.97. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sharp D. S., Beswick A. D., O'Brien J. R., Renaud S., Yarnell J. W., Elwood P. C. The association of platelet and red cell count with platelet impedance changes in whole blood and light-scattering changes in platelet rich plasma: evidence from the Caerphilly Collaborative Heart Disease Study. Thromb Haemost. 1990 Oct 22;64(2):211–215. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. West R. R., Lowe C. R. Mortality from ischaemic heart disease--inter-town variation and its association with climate in England and Wales. Int J Epidemiol. 1976 Jun;5(2):195–201. doi: 10.1093/ije/5.2.195. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Yarnell J. W., Baker I. A., Sweetnam P. M., Bainton D., O'Brien J. R., Whitehead P. J., Elwood P. C. Fibrinogen, viscosity, and white blood cell count are major risk factors for ischemic heart disease. The Caerphilly and Speedwell collaborative heart disease studies. Circulation. 1991 Mar;83(3):836–844. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.83.3.836. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Yarnell J. W., Sweetnam P. M., Rogers S., Elwood P. C., Bainton D., Baker I. A., Eastham R., O'Brien J. R., Etherington M. D. Some long term effects of smoking on the haemostatic system: a report from the Caerphilly and Speedwell Collaborative Surveys. J Clin Pathol. 1987 Aug;40(8):909–913. doi: 10.1136/jcp.40.8.909. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Heart Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES