UV radiation in sunlight lowers blood pressure

Sunlight in moderation can help against hypertension

01/21/2014

Sunlight is said to help alleviate high blood pressure by expanding UV rays in the blood vessels. This is what British scientists write in „Journal of Investigative Dermatology. "This relationship may also explain why patients have higher blood pressure in the winter than in the summer, so the researchers say that avoiding sunlight altogether could promote cardiovascular disease.

Sunlight affects high blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease
As the researchers report, the UV radiation influences the nitric oxide content in the skin, which causes dilation of the blood vessels. This reduces arterial pressure and lowers blood pressure. So far, physicians warned explicitly against sunbathing due to the skin cancer risk. However, the study recommends that exposure to solar radiation be kept to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease such as stroke and heart attack.

Martin Feelisch, a professor of medicine at the University of Southampton, and colleagues conducted their experiments with 24 study participants, who sat under a tanning lamp with UV radiation for 20 minutes. Thus, a radiation intensity of 30 minutes was achieved in the real sun. The passage was repeated, but without the UV radiation, so that the subjects were only exposed to heat. While a reduction in blood pressure was seen in the first trial, no effect on blood pressure was demonstrated in the second trial. According to the researchers, their results are consistent with seasonal blood pressure fluctuations and consequent risks for cardiovascular problems.

„All our data provide together mechanism-insights into an important function of the skin in the modulation of systemic nitric oxide bioavailability, which may be responsible for the seasonal and broad-based fluctuations in blood pressure and cardiovascular disease“, write the scientists in the journal. (Ag)