Winter is high time for heart attacks. Before you go out to shovel snow or start your new exercise routine, learn about your personal heart attack risk.
Exactly why winter is prime time for heart attack is still an evolving story, but many theories exist and possibly overlap. During the winter months, "there is a change in the ratio of daylight hours to dark hours, which changes the hormonal balance, and the hormones involved, such as cortisol, can lower the threshold for a cardiovascular event".
But that's not all that's going on. Cold temperatures cause arteries to tighten, restricting blood flow and reducing the oxygen supply to the heart, all of which can set the stage for a heart attack.
"In cold weather, there is more oxygen demand by the heart because it is working harder to do the work and maintain body heat,".
studies have shown that heart attacks and complications related to heart disease occur more frequently in the morning hours.
Research suggests that the early-morning rise in blood pressure, or "a.m. surge," that occurs in most people may dramatically increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
This shift of activities to morning hours adds to the normal circadian variation in mornings --further increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and the hormones that lower the threshold for a cardiovascular event,".
