Morning walk and heart in winter

 Morning walk and heart in winter

To walk or not to walk in the morning this winter? Don't tell me.' A friend of the health media got a call.

"Why?" I asked naturally.

"Let's write something about what to do in the cold for those who have or may have heart disease."

Oh what a great idea. We were mostly discussing other causes of heart disease. This particular winter month is important for more information.

What a good thing you said. In winter, too much cold affects the heart. It is better to give information about this,' I said.

Dr. Rajendra Koju

"That's why I asked, how many people may be suffering without knowing about it," came the frank words of a journalist friend.

As soon as he hung up the phone, something from 17 years ago came to his mind.

One cold winter afternoon, I was looking after the patient in the outdoor department after midterm. Around 4 o'clock when it was almost over, a couple of familiar professors came to me.

'Hello sir.' I said, 'Abela has come, sir.'

Oh, Dasab. Look, I went for a morning walk this morning, as I walked, my chest felt a little heavy. In the afternoon, I could not come because of class and office work. That's why I have come to consult now.

The 60-year-old sir had no heart disease in the past. The chest was heavy in the cold morning walk. Apart from that, the chest was not heavy even in the afternoon. As the chest becomes heavy, the heart becomes the first concern, so the factors related to some heart diseases were elaborated.

Do you smoke or not? Do you have diabetes or not? Do you take blood pressure medicine or not? Has anyone in the family had a heart attack or stroke? I kept asking the same question. After that, I checked his health by checking his pulse rate, measuring his blood pressure, and listening to his heartbeat.

Then it was the turn of ICG. ECG showed some suspicion of heart disease. I suggested to take angiography and take a look slowly and not immediately.

According to the advice, after doing an angiography, all the three arteries in the heart were narrowed. After that he underwent heart bypass surgery. He is still taking medicine.

Remembering this, I said in one line, "Yes, earlier, one sir was diagnosed with heart disease due to chest heaviness in the cold morning."

'And the cold caused the heart disease?'

Cold does not cause heart disease. Due to the fact that the blood circulation is insufficient according to the needs of the heart due to narrowed arteries in very cold, it can cause heart pain or chest pain. In extreme cold, the heart has to work harder to keep the body temperature at a proper level. For which proper amount of blood circulation is required. Also, blood vessels can constrict in extreme cold. The possibility of blood clotting also increases. Therefore, the possibility of heart attack increases.

"Then, people who smoke with high blood pressure and diabetes should be more careful?"

'Yes. Since the blood vessels of such a person already have fat deposits and narrowing, attention should be paid. Due to the narrow blood vessels, the blood flow necessary for the extra work of the heart during cold weather can cause heart pain. Some may even have a heart attack.

That's it. I heard many people saying that they should not walk in this cold. But don't you have to walk for your heart again?'

Yes. Walking for half an hour every day is beneficial for heart health.

"And since you won't walk in the morning in the cold, when will you walk?"

It means not walking in very cold weather. You can walk after the sun shines or when it warms up a bit. Or you can walk by making your whole body warm, such as hat, gloves, neckband, jacket, warm trousers, shoes, socks. In cold weather, the temperature of the body does not decrease because there is no place to allow the heat to escape from the body. Hats, gloves and masks must be worn as the temperature can drop a lot from the hands and head.

Some people say that no matter how many clothes you wear, the cold does not decrease.

Maybe the choice of clothes can also be the reason. If you wear a thin, warm, and windproof jacket inside, the heat of the body inside cannot go out, and the cold outside cannot penetrate inside the clothes.

If you wear clothes that allow air to penetrate or let's say cold, you can get cold even in 4 or 5 days. Just like air can penetrate a sweater, it can penetrate through cotton clothes.

"Shouldn't we be walking in this winter?"

Come on, doesn't that match a bit? If you can't go out in the morning in the cold, it's better if you walk upstairs at home or walk when it's a little warmer or walk in the afternoon. Again, there is no physical exercise like walking in winter and if you eat too much, there is a possibility of weight gain. Gaining weight is harmful in itself.

Some even smoke cigarettes to warm themselves.

"Oh, if that's special, the one who pulls it knows that it's bad."

They say that after inhaling cigarette smoke, you feel warm inside.

It's going to be warm right away, isn't it? But cigarette smoke has a bad effect not only on the lungs but also on the heart, liver and blood vessels. After the black and invisible elements that are visible from the heat of the smoke enter through the lungs, the lungs become black like a smoky kitchen stove, and the bad elements are spread throughout the body through the blood vessels of the lungs. And sometimes narrow blood vessels, sometimes narrow lung ducts, sometimes cancer, sometimes ulcer - it has a very bad effect. Therefore, a sudden warmth has a very unhealthy effect. Now tell me, is it warm and cute? Cancer, heart disease dear?'

Do such a bad thing 

I didn't have to smoke a cigarette. I have one or two friends who don't eat or don't like me. After all, a friend's sorrow is not his own.

Very good. Please, let's try. Leave it.'

"Someone has a cold, they want to drink alcohol."

"Yes, yes, that too."

"And is it better to warm up after drinking alcohol?"

A little alcohol can make you feel warm. However, the fact that alcohol makes you feel warm means that the external blood vessels expand and some blood circulation increases and the body heats up. In this, the internal temperature of the body comes out through the blood circulation and then the body temperature decreases. Therefore, the work of the heart increases even more. Also, if you warm up after drinking alcohol and go into the cold, the body temperature may drop on its own. Therefore, it is not right to go to the cold by eating because alcohol also makes you warm in this winter. Staying in a hot environment and eating a little does not make much difference, but going cold after eating or eating too much is definitely bad. It goes without saying that daily alcohol consumption damages the liver, it is something that everyone understands.

Yes, I understand that. So, alcohol and cigarettes are not helpful for this winter?

"It didn't happen."

What to do now?

Wear warm clothes, drink warm water, eat warm food. When walking outside in the cold, cover the whole body and keep it warm. Physical exercise. She is the one.

"Yes, thank you."

Thank you very much. You helped to convey some things for the health of the heart to the relevant areas.' Maybe we talked for a long time on the phone, but I remembered that it was a good use of time.