Facts about the relationship of cold weather to heart attack

Arabia Weather - A person is more likely to suffer a heart attack when temperatures drop below zero, so how does the body respond to feeling cold?

The body responds to feeling cold by:

• Constricting the surface blood vessels, thus reducing the temperature of the skin and increasing the flow of blood through the arteries and the body begins to feel cold and shiver.
• It increases the heart rate to keep warm, which puts pressure on the heart.
• New research suggests that people exposed to cold weather are more likely to have a heart attack.

Results of a recent study

• Researchers from Sweden followed 280,000 patients for 16 years to investigate the relationship between heart attacks and weather conditions such as air temperature, amount of sunlight, rain and air pressure.
• The principal investigator confirmed that there is a seasonal association with the occurrence of heart attacks, as there is a decrease in the incidence of heart attacks during the summer season and it reaches its peak in the winter season.
• It is unclear if the cause is lower temperatures and behavioral changes.
• Researchers studied the weather conditions at the time patients had a heart attack. During this study, 280,873 heart attacks were recorded.
• Researchers discovered that the average number of heart attacks per day was much higher when the weather was cold compared to warm weather.
• When the average temperature was below zero, the rate of heart attacks on a daily basis was four times higher.
• The incidence of heart attacks increased on windy days when the amount of sunlight during the day was minimal.
• Most healthy people tolerate this atmosphere, but people with coronary atherosclerosis may have a heart attack.

Factors that increase the risk of heart attacks

• flu.
• Respiratory infections.
• Seasonal behaviors such as decreased physical activity and dietary changes may play a role in the increased incidence of heart attacks in cold weather.

Source: Cura