Heart attacks etc are more common during the winters why?
Posted on: 27/Jan/2023 5:32:55 PM
Not only people get issues like cold, cough, fever, sore throat etc during the winter season, but they also get serious health issues like heart attacks too!! Shocking right!!
Truth is that the cold chilly climate could have inevitable effects on the heart. In the winter season, the blood vessels in us would constrict and due to this we could have more chances of getting serious issues like strokes, heart attacks etc. It was brought out by a famous cardiologist Dr Hisham Ahmed belonging to a hospital in Kochi in India that the temperature outside would have the opposite relationship with the blood pressure or BP.
When the BP increases in the winter season, then our heart would have to work much harder to pump the same amount of blood. It is noteworthy that as our blood arteries are narrow and in order to keep our body temperature stable, it increases the blood flow to the inner organs that are closer to the heart. Point is that the flow of blood to limbs decreases as these are farther away from the heart. The heart has to work harder to pump blood to force blood through constricted vessels and there could be chances of clotting if this happens.
The cardiologist spoke about how in the cooler temperatures the blood platelets adhere one to another more frequently. The chances of potentially fatal blood clot inside the body is more in the winter season. It is known that usually the platelets would clump together to create clots that would help in stopping bleeding wounds. During the winter season, heart attacks and heart disease related issues are more commonly occuring in the morning hours of the day. This was according to the research studies.
This could be due to the spike in the BP in the morning hours. It is learnt that there is an imbalance in the sympathetic hormones in the morning and this would make us more prone for getting heart attacks etc.
The levels of clotting factors like fibrinogen etc would be increased due to the changes in the hormones In the morning especially during winters, the plaques would rupture due to high BP and this could result in heart attacks too. Those who are inactive during winters could suffer from heart attacks etc. Truth is that during winters people eat more food and this could lead to more cholesterol and hence more heart attacks etc.
It is highly necessary to get involved or do physical activity for atleast 30 minutes per day. This was according to Dr. Tapan Ghosh, head and director of the cardiology department, Fortis Hospital. He added that modifying the lifestyle would lead to a healthy heart.
