Heart Attacks and Wintertime Risks
by Mohita Saxena - January 29, 2011
Believe it or not, but studies reveal that winters and heart attack risks go hand in hand. Winters continue to be virtual breeding grounds for heart related troubles, throughout the globe, and are a prime season accounting for the largest number of cardiac arrests almost every year.
Tips to Avoid Wintertime Heart Attacks
1.Exercise regularly. This keeps your body fit and maintained.
2.Get your insulin levels detected on a periodical basis. Improper insulin levels are potential triggers for heart attacks.
3.Avoid overacting, emotional eating or gluttony. Do not lead yourself to obesity.
4.Keep yourself properly warm and sheltered against the chill. This helps decrease the likelihood of cardiac troubles.
5.Don't smoke. If possible, avoid being exposed to passive smoking too.
The vulnerability of heart attacks in winters can be attributed to the numerous physiological changes that the human body undergoes in chilly weather conditions.
The likelihood of cardiac arrests is almost twice as high as in summers or remaining seasons of the year. Besides, wintertime attacks are supposedly more critical, to the extent of being fatal too.
Prime reasons for wintertime attacks include increased pressure on the heart in extreme weather conditions, constriction of the blood vessels, rich food intake owing to winters being a holiday season, altered daylight to dark hours ratio and many more.
Increased Cardiac Pressure
Owing to extremely cold weather conditions, the oxygen demand of the heart increases by a considerable amount. The heart continuously requires good amount of energy in the form of oxygen supply to maintain human body heat and temperature. This renewed demand of oxygen every now and then, compels the heart to function under pressure thereby, increasing the likelihood of cardiac arrests and troubles.
Constricted Blood Vessels
The blood vessels of the human body tend to get narrowed and tightened in response to extreme cold conditions. The constriction of the blood vessels (arteries) results in restricted blood flow and increased blood pressure besides diminished oxygen supply, thereby increasing the vulnerability of heart attacks.
Rich Food Intake
Considerably rich and heavy intake of food in the holiday season alters the physiological levels of the body by a significant amount. The levels of fats, cholesterol, and blood sugar tend to go haywire on account of heavy feasting. These in a way serve as major causes of heart troubles.
Altered Daylight to Dark Hours Ratio
Altered daylight to dark hours ratio in winters leads to considerable hormonal imbalance especially of cortisol which increases risks of cardiac arrests and other cardiac related troubles.
Also, increased proportions of certain proteins trigger the probability of blood clots which in turn lead to blockage of blood vessels, thereby leading to heart attacks and arrests.
However, little care and timely precautions can work wonders and help one escape heart troubles by a significant margin.
Last edited by Silky Chandvani on January 31, 2011 - 01:26 | Write to author: Mohita Saxena |
