Cold weather can be an inconvenience, causing you to bundle up in uncomfortable layers, shovel your car out of the snow, and double your heating payments. But a little extra effort could make all the difference – and even save your life.
So bundle up and be smart when the temperatures drop, especially when it comes to these four health hazards.
1. Heat up for your heart
You’ve hear the saying: Cold hands, warm heart. Well, maybe not. Earlier this year, United Kingdom researchers found that each decrease in temperature of 1.8 degrees in a single day raised the risk of heart attack by 2 percent in the following weeks.
"Two percent may sound small," study author Krishnan Bhaskaran, a research degree student with the faculty of epidemiology and population health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told HealthDay. "But everyone is exposed to changes in the weather, and heart attacks are common to start with. So this 2 percent would translate to substantial numbers of extra heart attacks: around 200 per one-degree drop in the United Kingdom, where our study was conducted."
A reduction of 1.8 F in daily temperature increased the heart attack risk for 28 days. A possible answer may hinge on earlier research that found as temperatures go down, blood pressure increases, thickening blood and making the heart work harder.
The people most vulnerable to dropping temperatures were older people between the ages of 75 and 84 and those with previous coronary heart disease. People who took aspirin long-term were less vulnerable.
