OGDEN -- The dropping thermometer just might drop you to your knees with health problems, experts say, especially when it comes to your ticker.
"The winter months raise the risk for heart problems, because the cold temperature makes the arteries constrict or tighten, causing an increase in blood pressure, which causes the heart to work harder," said Kelly Imlay, director of intensive medicine at McKay-Dee Hospital. "It also restricts the blood flow and decreases the amount of oxygen going to the heart."
In addition, Imlay said, the cold temperature causes a release of a protein that increases the chances for a blood clot.
A study published in the August edition of the British Medical Journal found that lower outdoor temperatures are linked to an increase in the risk of heart attacks.
The study, conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine over a four-year period, concluded that each 1 degree Celsius reduction in temperature on a single day was associated with a 2 percent increase in heart attacks.
The researchers said more studies need to be done to see what measures can be taken to reduce the risk. One preventive measure could be as simple as dressing in layers, the study suggested.
Besides the cold, high winds, snow and rain can also rob you of some body heat. Wind can remove the layer of heated air from around the body. If you're damp, your body will lose heat faster than it would if you were dry, even if the temperature is the same.
Sloshing through wet, heavy snow and shoveling can also put a strain on the heart.
"There are no specific mistakes people make during the winter months that put their hearts at increased risk," said Dr. Christopher Y. Kim, an interventional cardiologist at Davis Hospital and Medical Center. "It is the stress that winter puts on our bodies in combination with underlying disease that's the bad combination."
The biggest mistake people make, Kim said, is leading an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle in general.
Then, when they participate in winter sports or shovel snow, they end up having a heart attack because their body is not used to the strenuous exertion,
Deanna Wolfe, Ogden Regional Medical Center director of trauma services, said keeping up a regular, year-round exercise program is important.
"We do see a large number of heart attacks and chest pain caused by exertion in the winter," Wolfe said. "Do not do exertion like shoveling without some conditioning."
What typically occurs is a person who does not do heavy work in the summer goes out to shovel snow because it must be done, and the work is more strenuous than the heart can handle.
"Think of it like putting 20 pounds of salt in a paper bag and carrying it a long distance," Wolfe said. "The bag would be stressed and break. If the salt is in a strong plastic bag it would hold the salt. The heart must have strength to do strenuous activity, and that strength comes from conditioning it on a regular basis."
Amber Fritz and Taunia Couch, exercise specialists at Ogden Regional Medical Center's Heart Center and Cardiac Rehabilitation, said snow shoveling should be avoided if you have a diagnosed heart condition. If you do have to shovel snow, move slowly and gradually. Use a push shovel and limit the amount of snow on the shovel.
Heart attack symptoms aren't the same for everyone, Imlay said. Many start slowly as mild pain or discomfort.
Most heart attacks, however, involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back.
"The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain," Imlay said. "Heart attack pain can sometimes feel like indigestion or heart burn."
Other symptoms can include discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or upper part of the stomach, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and breaking out in a cold sweat.
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