FREEZING weather doesn't just carry the risk colds and flu - it can also trigger a heart attack, experts have warned.

We're more likely to suffer the life-threatening condition on chilly, windy days where there's not much sunshine, a new study suggests.

Wintery weather can increase your risk of having the most severe form of heart attack by nearly ten per cent.

Professor David Erlinge of Lund University, Sweden, is the lead author of the study, and he explained that icy temperatures are thought to cause blood vessels to narrow - restricting the heart's oxygen supply.

Scientists looked at 16 years of weather and heart attacks in Sweden, dating between 1998 and 2013 - including information on more than 274,000 people aged 50+.

Professor Erlinge said that days with high wind, low temperature and little sunshine had the biggest links to reported heart attacks.

"The strongest association appeared to be for air temperature - with a higher risk of heart attack on days when air temperatures were less than 0°C (32°F)," Professor Erlinge said.

"Consistent results were observed after adjustment for long-term trends in heart attack and day of week.

"After adjustment for air pollutant levels, only air temperature remained significantly associated with risk of heart attack."

Further research found that when temperatures rose back up from 0°C to 3°C or 4°C, that risk fell.

Weather seemed to be a particular risk for STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarcation) - the most deadly kind of heart attack that happens when the heart muscle dies due to a blocked blood supply.

The study found that for every 3.1°C increase in temperature, there was a 9.5 per cent risk reduction for STEMI.

Other winter heart attack risks include respiratory infections and flu.

In fact, previous studies have found that those who have had a recent lung or throat infection are six times more likely to suffer a heart attack.

Professor Erlinge also said that low vitamin D intake (due to lack of sunlight) might also be to blame and the fact that most of us are less active during the winter months.

Whether or not the risk is reduced by staying indoors and wearing warm clothes, however, is yet to be discovered.

There are drugs out there that could reverse the effects of wintery weather, Erlinge said.

"Beta-blockers and aspirin - among other medications - could blunt the possible associations of external triggers through widening of the blood vessels."

So what can you do to reduce your risk if you don't have the time or money to jet off to Barbados for the winter?

It goes without saying that you should get a flu jab if you're at all vulnerable. Over 65s, children under ten and certain people with asthma can get one for free on the NHS.

But if you're not in those groups, it's still worth you getting a shot, particularly if you have kids, as 47 per cent of parents say their sprogs have passed flu onto a family member.

Make sure that you keep eating healthily and moving - even if it's just doing a home work out. It's important to stay warm and wrap up well.

And if you do feel continuously unwell, phone your GP.