How cold weather is a heart-health risk

Cold weather is something you cannot escape unless you're fortunate enough to live in an area with a mild climate. Exposure to cold temperatures puts a strain on the heart and cardiovascular system. But here's how to combat it.

• Older people are particularly vulnerable to cold — partly because they may be less able to detect a drop in temperature, and partly because many of them cannot afford to heat their homes effectively.
• In response, our blood vessels tend to constrict, increasing blood pressure as well as making blood more likely to clot.
• At the same time, the body's demand for oxygen increases to try to maintain body temperature, so supplies to vital organs such as the heart may be insufficient.
• This helps to explain why there are more deaths from heart disease in December and January than in June and July.
• Other heart problems, such as heart failure (where the heart isn't pumping strongly enough), also peak in winter.

• Ideally, try to keep your house heated to between 18° and 21°C (64° and 70°F) in the winter, and remember to dress in warm clothes.
• Keeping active and eating a healthy diet will also help to protect you.

• Avoid sudden changes in temperature. Going from a warm, centrally heated house out into the cold without being properly insulated can be especially dangerous.
• Try to avoid a sudden increased level of exertion. People tend to exercise less during the colder months, so their general level of fitness may be reduced.
• If you really have to go outside to clear snow from your driveway in the morning — the peak time for heart attacks — do the minimum necessary, dress warmly and go slowly.

• Another factor in winter-related deaths may be that blood becomes more concentrated in cold weather, so cholesterol levels rise more in autumn and winter than spring and summer.
• Avoid eating larger quantities than usual in winter, especially more carbohydrate-rich "comfort foods."
• These dietary changes could contribute to raising cholesterol levels as well as promoting weight gain and metabolic changes.
• Instead, choose homemade soups, baked apples, clementines and other healthy alternatives.