Why Do We See a Surge in Winter Mortality?

The rates of things like heart attacks and strokes also shoot up in winter. Can that be explained on the basis of what we know about how the body handles temperature? When you get cold, you peripherally vasoconstrict, so you reduce the blood flow to the periphery. This pushes the blood centrally. As a result of that, you also get a rise in arterial blood pressure as well. On all of that, places of stress on the heart can exacerbate any kind of cardiovascular set of disorders.