While cold temperatures are known to increase blood pressure and trigger processes that thicken the blood, new research may have uncovered another reason why the number of cardiovascular-related(心臓血管に関連した)deaths spikes(急上昇する)during the winter months - cold weather may lead to inflammation(炎症、点火)in the body. Researchers measured the levels of three inflammatory markers in blood samples taken from approximately 1,000 adults with a history of heart attacks. They found that after just three consecutive days of cold weather, elevated levels of one inflammatory marker were present in their samples; and after five days, levels of the other two markers had increased as well.