{"id":356,"date":"2019-10-10T07:50:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T06:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enfieldover50sforum.org.uk\/newsite\/?p=356"},"modified":"2019-10-10T07:50:49","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T06:50:49","slug":"cold-blooded-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enfieldover50sforum.org.uk\/newsite\/2019\/10\/10\/cold-blooded-killer\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold-blooded Killer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For older people, keeping warm in winter is not just about comfort \u2013 it is about staying healthy. So the Forum has teamed up with HEET<\/a> to help cut fuel bills<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

Every\nyear, more people die in the winter than the summer. Cold\ntemperatures affect blood flow, making\nit thicker, more sticky and more likely to clot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once\nyou start shivering, blood is sent to internal organs, which can\noverload them. At the same time, blood vessels constrict\nto help conserve body heat, which not only raises blood\npressure<\/a> but also creates a narrower space for blood to\ncirculate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo\nwe can see that keeping warm is as much about keeping healthy \u2013 and\nalive \u2013 as it is about feeling comfortable. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nproblem is that keeping warm can be expensive. More than 15,600\nhomes in\nEnfield are classified\nas being fuel\npoor\n\u2013 that\u2019s over 12.6% of all homes in the borough \u2013 and up 11% on\nthe previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the Forum is teaming up with HEET<\/a>, a non-profit-making charity to offer free<\/em> help to all<\/em> householders this coming winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nA\nhousehold is said to be in fuel poverty when families cannot afford\nto keep adequately warm at a reasonable cost, because their income is\noften too low to both heat their home and eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nCold\nhomes contribute to 56 deaths in Enfield, on average, each\nwinter. Eight\ntimes this number are admitted to hospital. Once treated, these\npatients are usually discharged back to the home that made them ill\nin the first place because they live in a hard-to-heat home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nHEET\nis particularly keen to help families whose health may be at risk\nfrom living in a cold home. It aims to help us stay warm, save money\non our fuel bills and cut carbon emissions that cause climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIf\nyou find it hard to keep your home comfortably warm, someone from\nHEET can carry out a free home energy visit. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAt\nthis visit they can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n