Aging Affects the Cardiovascular Responses to Cold Stress in Humans.

J Appl Physiol. 2009 Aug 13; Hess KL, Wilson TE, Sauder CL, Gao Z, Ray CA, Monahan KDCardiovascular-related mortality peaks during cold winter months, particularly in older adults. Acute physiological responses, such as increases in blood pressure, in response to cold exposure may contribute to these associations. To determine if the blood pressure raising effect (pressor response) of acute non-hypothermic cold stress is greater with age we measured physiological responses to 20 minutes of skin surface cooling, via water-perfused suit, in 12 young (25+/-1 years old, mean+/-SE) and 12 older (65+/-2) adults. We found that skin surface cooling elicited a pressor response (P