From HealthNewsDigest.com

Heart Health
Heart Attack Risks Increase During the Winter
By
Jan 13, 2015 - 10:26:25 AM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - "Cold weather brings warnings from meteorologists about staying indoors, and dressing warmly to prevent hypothermia and frostbite.  But it turns out that the risk of heart attack also rises during the winter months, perhaps by as much as 53%," says Cardiologist Alon Gitig MD of the Mount Sinai Riverside Medical Group in Yonkers, New York.

Exposure to cold temperatures stimulates constriction of our blood vessels, which can lead to increases in blood pressure.  This can put extra strain on the beating heart, as it pumps harder to eject blood through a higher-pressure system of arteries.  Furthermore, constricted coronary arteries may limit blood supply to the heart muscle during this time where oxygen requirements are elevated to support the increased workload.  When blood supply doesn't keep up with heart muscle cell demands, the result can be chest pain ("angina"), or, worse, heart attack.

Dr. Gitig recommend that one can minimize their risk of heart attacks in the winter by trying to stay active (e.g. exercising indoors on fitness machines or even walking the stairs), dressing appropriately warmly when going outside, and avoiding heavy snow shoveling.

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