Pointing out that cold weather is a serious threat to the heart, Cardiology Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayça Türer Cabbar warned: “People who do not have any complaints as well as heart and diabetes patients and elderly people should be cautious against the risk of heart attack.”

How Winter Affects Our Heart Health

In winter, our body and mood can be challenged by reasons such as a decrease in air temperature, a decrease in physical activity, air pollution, incorrect eating habits, and hormonal changes.

During the winter months, the incidence of hypertension, arrhythmias, heart attack, heart failure, and sudden cardiac deaths increases. Stimulation of contraction in the vessels feeding the heart due to the effect of falling heat may cause stenosis or the nutrition of the heart may be impaired by aggravating the situation in patients with stenosis already. This can lead to complaints such as chest pain and shortness of breath or an increase in already existing complaints. Also in cold weather, the heart tries to pump more blood to maintain the body's temperature. For this, the heart rate increases, and blood pressure rises, which can negatively affect heart patients. Spending more time indoors and lowering body resistance also increases exposure to many infections. One of the groups most affected by this condition is heart patients. In the winter period, our mood is affected as well as our body, increasing our susceptibility to depression. Today, there may be an inability to cope with stress, which is a serious problem. All these causes can trigger a heart attack, cause rhythm disturbances, and aggravate heart failure symptoms. In winter, of course, we can do something to protect our hearts as much as possible from such effects.

Was my heart affected?

We will continue to be our own doctors in cold weather as always. We will be sensitive to the signals your body gives us and we will get support from our hospitals and doctors when necessary. If there are complaints such as chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, decrease in our effort capacity, we will definitely get support. In patients with heart failure, especially if there is a sudden increase in daily weight follow-up and/or an increase in the number of pillows used at bedtime, we should share this situation with the following doctor.

Measures To Be Taken

• Cold Protection

We should take care to dress in multiple layers to protect ourselves from the cold. Because dressing in this way creates an extra layer of air and better protects our body temperature. Our head is one of the main areas where body temperature is lost, so we can wear a hat or beret when going out on the street. It can be especially helpful to dress in a way that protects our ears and hands.

• Weight Management

Healthily regulating nutrition, moving (according to the doctor's recommendation if we have additional diseases), consuming plenty of fluids (if there is no obstacle), and paying attention to sleep patterns will be enough to ensure our weight control.

• Nutrition

In the fight against diseases, we can include winter vegetables and fruits that support our immune system with their vitamin, mineral, and fiber-rich properties, which we will pay attention to be fresh. Fruit and vegetables 4-5 times a day will help us to maintain a healthy life.

• From Vegetables: Orange and Red Vegetables: Carrots, sweet potatoes, red peppers, and winter squash help balance blood pressure.
• Green Leafy Vegetables: Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and broccoli will benefit the heart in many ways.
• Citrus: Orange, tangerine, and grapefruit as sources of vitamin C help protect us from infections.
• Tomato: It has the substance lycopene, which is thought to be beneficial for heart health. It lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and reduces the risk of heart attack.
• We should use as little salt as possible in our meals.
• We should be careful not to consume excessive fatty, floury, fried, and ready-made foods.
• In grain consumption, we can choose whole grain, which is rich in fiber. Especially oats can be among our preferences in terms of not containing gluten, supporting cholesterol control, and being beneficial for digestion.
• Eating fish 2 days a week will help us to maintain our heart health. Especially if we can consume fatty fish, we will be rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
• By not using saturated and trans fats in foods and staying away from sugar as much as possible, we can both protect our heart health and help our weight control. Olive oil will be the most ideal oil choice in terms of unsaturated fat.
• Again, some foods can help us to maintain heart health.

Walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds from oilseeds; flaxseed is also important because it also contains Omega-3.

Dried legumes basically help balance blood sugar. Dried beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, and green lentils are examples of these foods.

Pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds have antioxidant properties.

• We can use olive oil, turmeric, black pepper, and lemon to flavor food.
• Coffee can be beneficial to our hearts when we consume it in limited quantities, without adding milk and sugar. In addition, hot chocolate and sahlep are consumed too much. If we consume these delicious and hot drinks with sugar, our weight control will be difficult.
• We need to drink 8-12 glasses of water a day for our body to function in a balanced way and to eliminate toxins (if there is no additional recommendation by our doctor).
• We should take care to take probiotics for our intestinal health. Kephir, yogurt, vinegar, and grizzly are also probiotics that we can consume in the winter. Although pickles have probiotic properties, since they contain too much salt, we can prefer foods such as salads, radishes, and onions instead of pickles.
• When cooking, we can choose to cook with oven, grill, and boil methods.
• The snack is one of those meals that should not be skipped in order to maintain blood sugar balance and increase metabolic rate. You can choose different foods from different food groups.
• Protein is involved in cell building and repair, fighting infection, and strengthening the blood. Proteins are made of amino acids. Eight amino acids are very important. Eggs, meat, chicken, fish, turkey, milk, cheese, and yogurt contain essential amino acids. Dried legumes are also found in bread, rice, and bulgur. The right combinations meet the need for amino acids for the body.

• Exercise

Exercises, especially in the spring and summer, are often stopped in winter. The regular exercise we do every day does not end with counting the benefits to our body and mood. Decrease in blood pressure, correction, or reduction of rhythm irregularities, aiding in weight control, balancing blood sugar, defeating insulin resistance, increasing body resistance, and improvement in cardiovascular health together with reduced risk of heart attack constitute some of its positive effects. Hence, we need to exercise in the winter months as well.

We can exercise to protect ourselves from the cold weather, preferring the hours when the weather is warmer.

An exercise that we will do for at least 5 days and 30 minutes a week and increase, if possible, will be sufficient. Of course, we will increase our heart rate while exercising, but if we have additional diseases, we should make a plan that we can restrict with the recommendation of the doctor. Even if we cannot get out, we should try to be active inside the house as well. We should avoid sitting for too long.

• Blood Pressure Check

The effects of cold weather in the winter months, decreased physical activity and weight gain can cause blood pressure to go up. Therefore, especially if we have a diagnosis of hypertension, we should make it a habit to measure our blood pressure regularly during the winter months. In the summer months, we will need less medicine, while in winter, we may need more medicine. It is useful to measure our intermittent blood pressure, as changes in our blood pressure will not always cause complaints. If there is a change in blood pressure monitoring, there may be a need for medication or dose change as a result of the doctor's recommendation.

• Protection from Infections-Vaccination

One of the reasons why heart diseases increase, or their control deteriorates in the winter months is the increase in respiratory tract infections such as Covid-19, influenza, or pneumonia. Infection is a source of stress for our body, and fever can cause our heart to work faster and increase the need for oxygen. Again, controlled heart failure can worsen the disease. In order to increase our strength against infections, we should pay attention to our lifestyle and get vaccinated when necessary. Having vaccines that are accepted and proven to be effective will reduce the bad results.

• Prevention of Depression

In the winter months, the tendency to depression may increase for many reasons. Increased stress hormones such as cortisol also trigger heart diseases such as heart attack, rhythm problems, and hypertension. If we can find a way to cope with stress and get help when we cannot, we are protecting our hearts from its bad effects. In order to increase serotonin, known as the happiness hormone, we can include foods rich in tryptophan in our diet such as chicken meat, turkey meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, soybeans, peanuts, and almonds. Adding omega-3-rich foods will also help. In addition, it will be beneficial to have hobbies that will reduce stress and make us happy.

• Vitamins and Supplements When Needed

In recent years, many studies have published results that vitamin D deficiency is also a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure and stroke. The most effective way to get vitamin D is through sunlight. However, during the winter months, the angle of the sun's rays changes and we are unlikely to benefit from its beneficial effects. Therefore, when you don't get enough sunlight, you may need to take vitamin D supplements. We may need to measure our vitamin D levels in consultation with your doctor and take supplements when necessary.

Foods rich in vitamin C will strengthen our immune system. Especially if you have heart failure, iron deficiency should be eliminated. It will be useful to take iron supplements in line with the doctor's recommendation.

• Sleep Routine is Significant

Sleep is one of the most important functions of our lives and is very important for our heart health. In order for hormones to work properly in our body, we must pay attention to sleep hours. A good night's sleep improves our quality of life during the day.  Sleeping at the same time and waking up at the same time regulates the work of our body. Adequate sleep time protects from depression and reduces stress.