BehindTheMedspeak: Can breathing cold air kill you?

Until this morning I didn't think so.

But then, on page 29 of the latest Herrington catalog, in the copy describing the benefits of a cold–weather heat–exchanging breathing mask (above), I read the following: "You'll avoid the potentially lethal cardiac effects of breathing cold air."

I guess there's always something new in the world of heart disturbances.

Funny, though: I never heard a word about such a thing during medical school, internship, residency, my research fellowship in cardio–pulmonary anesthesia or in my subsequent years in academic anesthesia, nor have I ever read anything about the dangerous cardiac effects of chilly air in either the anesthesiology literature or the medical literature in general.

Time for the crack research team to have a look, what?

Here's what they brought back:

1) It is true that sudden exposure to cold water can cause cardiac arrest.

2) Breathing cold air can trigger an asthmatic episode. However, any shortness of breath resulting from inhaling frigid air has never been reported to have a "potentially lethal" effect on an individual's heart.

3) The use of cold to treat cardiac arrest is well established and routine practice around the world.

Long story short: Should you choose to purchase one of these masks, do so because breathing warm air feels better, not because it's going to protect you from cardiac arrest.

The XChanger Fleece Face Mask (above) comes in medium and large sizes, in your choice of cream, black, grey or navy and costs $34.95 here.

Both the Under–Helmet version (below)

and the Balaclava (below),

offering "full head, neck and face protection for extreme cold," are one–size–fits–all, black, and cost $42.95 here.