Blood pressure
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Seasonal variation in blood pressure (BP), a usual tendency of both systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) to rise during winter in hypertensive patients, may be related to the higher cardiovascular mortality in winter. However, it is not yet clear what factors are relevant to the seasonal BP changes. We hypothesized that arterial stiffness is related to the BP changes between summer and winter. ⋯ Our results established a feasible link between arterial stiffness and seasonal BP variation. These findings may partly explain higher cardiovascular risk in patients with increased arterial stiffness.