{"id":22530,"date":"2023-02-01T11:54:36","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T18:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=22530"},"modified":"2023-12-27T14:31:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T21:31:52","slug":"cold-weather-and-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/cold-weather-and-your-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold weather and your heart"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"
Studies show there’s a link between cold weather and heart issues. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s an image well-known to most medical students of a man experiencing chest pain. In the picture, the man clutches his chest with a grimace as he walks outside of a diner. Not to be missed is the fact that snow is falling: it\u2019s winter.<\/p>\n

Doctors have known for years that cold weather can stress the heart and studies continue to show a link between cold weather and heart issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is some evidence that there\u2019s increased risk for heart disease during cold weather months,\u201d said Dr. Will Baker<\/a>, a cardiologist with UCHealth Heart and Vascular Clinics in Steamboat Springs<\/a> and Craig<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reasons for that increased risk are multi-faceted. To start with, when you\u2019re outside in the cold, the small blood vessels in your skin constrict to help save heat. That means your heart must worker harder to pump blood through those tighter vessels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat can raise your blood pressure and heart rate, stressing the heart,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

On top of that, cold weather can require extra work for you and for your heart. \u201cThe classic example is snow shoveling,\u201d Baker said. \u201cPeople tend to go out and overdo it \u2013 it\u2019s a lot of work to shovel snow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter months are also the time when various illnesses, such as the flu<\/a> and pneumonia<\/a>, strike. Those sicknesses can put an extra load on the heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cRespiratory illnesses, in particular, are a real stress on the heart, especially for older people,\u201d Baker said. \u201cIf you have pneumonia, your oxygen is low, and you have to work harder to breathe, which increases your heart rate. When you\u2019re sick like that, there\u2019s a lot of physiological stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This
Dr. Will Baker is a cardiologist at UCHealth Heart and Vascular Clinics in Steamboat Springs and Craig. Photo by UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Depression and stress, which may snowball in the dark, wintry days around the holiday season<\/a>, also impact heart health. \u201cSome people are more stressed, particularly around the holidays, and that adds to increased risk,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

And visitors coming to the mountains for a ski vacation may face the double whammy of cold temperatures plus high altitude<\/a>, which also requires the heart to work harder and can even trigger heart issues such as arrhythmias.<\/p>\n

But there is good news: many of the issues that cold presents can be addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it is just using common sense,\u201d Baker said. \u201cRealize that winter activities, even fun, recreational activities, can be physically demanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before shoveling snow, soaring down your first ski run, or gliding away on your Nordic skis, take time to warm up. Dress appropriately and watch that you don\u2019t overheat. \u201cOverheating can be just as bad as being too cold,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

Visitors should take time to acclimate and follow other guidelines such as getting proper sleep, avoiding heavy meals, and minimizing the use of alcohol.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not to say you can\u2019t go skiing on day one, but stick to the groomers, take breaks and stay hydrated,\u201d Baker said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to enjoy your vacation a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker also recommends that visitors who have heart issues check with their doctor about their travel plans and then be especially careful to take extra time to acclimate and warm up, and to eat a healthy diet.<\/p>\n

Never ignore signs or symptoms of a possible heart problem. And remember that many times, symptoms of a heart issue are more varied than just chest discomfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may feel profoundly more out of breath than seems appropriate, or you may experience nausea, dizziness and heart palpitations,\u201d Baker said. \u201cAny time there\u2019s any kind of symptom, it\u2019s worth getting it checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in the Steamboat Pilot & Today on Dec. 17, 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s an image well-known to most medical students of a man experiencing chest pain. In the picture, the man clutches his chest with a grimace as he walks outside of a diner. Not to be missed is the fact that snow is falling: it\u2019s winter. Doctors have known for years that cold weather can stress […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2163,"featured_media":22531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2923,3512,82,128,9187],"class_list":["post-22530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-blood-pressure","tag-heart-and-vascular-care-cardiovascular","tag-heart-and-vascular-care-cardiology","tag-heart-health","tag-readysetco"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCold weather and your heart - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Doctors have known for years that cold weather can stress the heart and recent studies continue to show a link between cold weather and heart issues.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/cold-weather-and-your-heart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cold weather and your heart\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Doctors have known for years that cold weather can stress the heart and recent studies continue to show a link between cold weather and heart issues.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/cold-weather-and-your-heart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-01T18:54:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-27T21:31:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/11114443\/GettyImages-466188173_super.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susan Cunningham, for UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susan Cunningham, for UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/cold-weather-and-your-heart\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/cold-weather-and-your-heart\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Susan Cunningham, for UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f2737182b44781de4109fdd5dd464270\"},\"headline\":\"Cold weather and your heart\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-01T18:54:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-27T21:31:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/cold-weather-and-your-heart\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":661,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/cold-weather-and-your-heart\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/11114443\\\/GettyImages-466188173_super.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"blood pressure\",\"Heart and vascular care\",\"Heart care\",\"Heart health\",\"Ready. 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