Staying mission ready means avoiding preventable injury and illness. Winter weather poses a risk to health, including to your heart, which can be minimized with proper winter safety actions.
Messages for Communicators
- Strenuous activity during cold weather can increase your risk of heart attack compared to temperate weather.
- Cold weather can cause blood vessels and arteries to constrict, making the heart work harder to pump blood.
- This can cause angina, or chest pain, that can also spread to the shoulders, arms, or neck.
- Strenuous activity out in the cold should be approached with caution, especially if you are not used to physical activity – this even includes things like shoveling snow, yard work, or exercise.
- Make good choices about the rigor of your cold weather exercises and the clothing you wear, and take extra care with regular tasks made more dangerous by ice and snow.
- Listen to your body: chest pain, lightheadedness, shortness of breath and dizziness mean that all activity should stop immediately and medical attention is necessary.
- Exercising in cold weather also poses other different risks than warm or temperate weather.
- Cold muscles can lead to injuries. Make sure you stretch before exercising in the cold weather.
- Your endurance can change in cold weather. Make sure you know your winter limits before you push them.
- Hypothermia or frostbite are real concerns in extreme cold. Wear appropriate gear, or carry gloves, hats, extra socks, or an additional layer.
- Limit time outside in windy, wet, or extremely cold weather.
- Your core may be warm, but your fingers and toes can be at risk from frostbite.
- If exertion is keeping your body temperature up, it can drop rapidly once you stop exercising.
Related Links
Winter Storms, Extreme Cold
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