Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 24: Struggling through brutal winter weather could make your heart ache. Cold weather causes your blood vessels to constrict, raising your blood pressure and increasing your risk of death from heart disease and stroke.
This was stated today by Dr. Sushil Sharma, Head of the Department of Cardiology in Government Medical College and Superspeciality Hospital (GMC&SSH) while interacting with people during a cardiac care camp in Government Primary School (GPS) Sarora in Marh block.
More than 250 patients were examined in the camp.
Dr. Sushil and his team did not only screen the patients but interacted with them to brief them about precautions they should take during winters. “Heart attacks are 33 percent more likely in winter. My advice to you all is to take special precautions during winter. We can see an increased risk of heart attack, because extremes of weather put stress on the body,” Dr Sharma said.
He added that with cold weather, your blood vessels constrict and your blood pressure goes up. With heat, the blood pressure can fall and the heart has to work harder to make up for it. He said that many people aren’t conditioned to the physical stress of vigorous outdoor activities and don’t know the potential dangers of being outdoors in cold weather.
He said that children and the elderly people are at special risk because they may have limited ability to communicate or impaired mobility. People with coronary heart disease often suffer chest pain or discomfort when they’re in cold weather, said Dr. Sushil. He maintained that besides cold temperatures, high winds, snow and rain also can steal body heat. He advised the people being screened to keep body warm by wearing layers of clothing.
The team had the chance of screening a 100 year old man namely Babu Ram. They declared him physically fit and heart healthy. Dr. Sushil was invited to hold the day long camp in Sarora by Incharge Seva Bharti Jaidav Singh Dada alongwith Dwarkanath, K. C. Dubey, Mukesh, Tara Chand, Parshotam Sharma and Raghubir Sharma.
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