7 Reasons Your Heart Attack Risk Is Highest in the Winter

Can the season really affect the heart?

It doesn’t seem like the outside temps should affect your ticker, but research shows a link between cold weather and heart attack risk. One U.S. study looking at about 600,000 heart failure hospitalizations over three years found that the likelihood of dying—and spending more and staying longer in the hospital—spiked in the winter. (Watch out for these 10 silent signs of congestive heart failure.) A Canadian study of about 113,000 heart failure patients 65 and older reports that for every 1°C (1.8°F) the average temperature drops, heart attack risk increases by 0.7 percent. So going from 75°F to 32°F, for instance, would increase risk by about 17 percent. There are a number of reasons why your heart is more vulnerable in the coldest months. Don’t miss these other times heart attacks are more likely to occur.