AHA releases tips for getting, staying healthy during winter
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The American Heart Association unveiled a series of tips on how to get and stay healthy during the winter season.
“There’s actually some advantages to working out in cold weather — with no heat and humidity to deal with, you may be able to work out longer in cold weather which means you can burn even more calories. It’s also a great way to get much needed vitamin D from the sunlight, which can help elevate your mood,” John A. Osborne, MD, PhD, FACC, FNLA, founder and director of State of the Heart Cardiology, Metroplex Cardiology, said in a press release. “Research shows that exercise also boosts your immunity during the cold and flu season, which can be especially important in dealing with possible COVID-19 infection.”
For indoor exercises, there are many online resources that can help develop at-home workouts. Osborne also suggested visiting the gym or walking in the mall if appropriate COVID-19-related precautions are used.
For exercising outdoors, such as skiing, skating or shoveling snow, Osborne said in the release that there are CV risks to consider. The cold causes blood vessels to contract and coronary arteries to constrict and as a result, can raise BP and increase risk for MI and stroke.
According to the release, the AHA recommends that people:
- Wear layers to stay warm when exercising outdoors to avoid frostbite and hypothermia and take breaks.
- Stay hydrated and drink lots of water.
- Watch out for cold weather comfort drinks with unwanted sugar and fat, like pumpkin spice lattes and hot chocolate.
- Get the COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
- Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation because EMS response times can be slower with inclement weather. CPR can double or triple a person’s chance of survival if administered immediately after cardiac arrest.
“Strenuous activities such as walking through heavy snow or snow shoveling can add stressors to the heart that people aren’t normally used to,” Osborne said in the release. “Our hearts also have to work extra hard in cold weather to keep a healthy body temperature.”
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts