Rheumatoid Arthritis (Phoenix, Tucson, Scottsdale: apartment, rentals, condo)

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Phoenix lady

But, how good is the June-Sept weather on a cardiac patient's activity level? And, walking to the fridge inside the house doesn't count.

Many cardiac patients are older and tend to have co-existing RA and OA so the warmer weather enables them to be more active which improves their condition. In colder weather, people tend to be more sedentary due to their arthritis being worse in addition to the cold temperatures. In the summer, you can go outside in the mornings and the evenings. In the winter, the weather gets worse in the mornings and evenings. But then again, I'm referring to normal people not members of the Polar Bear Club that think jumping into a lake when it's 40 degrees outside is fun.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by Pirate0202

tijlover - great post! Thanks for pointing out that Las Vegas is even drier than Phoenix. Did you move to LV particularly because you were looking for a climate that was even drier? How much of a difference did it make compared to Phoenix? Las Vegas is about 1000 feet higher in elevation than Phoenix -- that didn't bother you? What about the colder, windier weather in LV compared to PHX? Thank you in advance for any more information you can share!

I moved to Las Vegas to get away from the overly-vigilant speed patrols.

Vegas gets about 3.5 to 4 inches of precip. a year, compared to 7.5-8 for Phoenix, and 11 for Tucson. And yes, the less precip./less humidity I've taken note of, but most people wouldn't know the difference.

The extra altitude translates, as you well know, to colder winters and slightly cooler evenings in summer. But Vegas is much windier than PHX, that's the part I curse every winter, as winds can blow thru this valley in winter at 30-50MPH and can freeze you dead in your shoes.

I miss PHX, in other ways, mainly for the people. I come from the Midwest
and I miss meeting up with more people from my own part of the country.

[Nanny Goat]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Many cardiac patients are older and tend to have co-existing RA and OA so the warmer weather enables them to be more active which improves their condition. In colder weather, people tend to be more sedentary due to their arthritis being worse in addition to the cold temperatures. In the summer, you can go outside in the mornings and the evenings. In the winter, the weather gets worse in the mornings and evenings. But then again, I'm referring to normal people not members of the Polar Bear Club that think jumping into a lake when it's 40 degrees outside is fun.

Warm weather,yes, but from late May-early October, it's hot out here and that isn't great for a cardiac patient exercising, unless indoors. Even am's aren't that cool when the low's only hit 88 at night. I heard Bill Bellis/weatherman say that the lows at night are climbing every year, too.
In other climates, they have their difficult weather Dec-early March. It's just trading apples for oranges wherever you live. Like the saying, "Pick your poison." There is no utopia on earth.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Phoenix lady

Warm weather,yes, but from late May-early October, it's hot out here and that isn't great for a cardiac patient exercising, unless indoors. Even am's aren't that cool when the low's only hit 88 at night. I heard Bill Bellis/weatherman say that the lows at night are climbing every year, too.
In other climates, they have their difficult weather Dec-early March. It's just trading apples for oranges wherever you live. Like the saying, "Pick your poison." There is no utopia on earth.

Yes, but it's 88 and dry which is a huge difference from a physiological standpoint. Humidity inhibits the body's cooling system. The humidity in the air inhibits the evaporative cooling effect from perspiration being drawn away. If there is excess vapor in the air (humid), the sweat has difficulty evaporating and drawing heat off so your body struggles to get rid of this heat. Most cases of heat stroke are caused by the body's impaired ability to cool itself as opposed to being exposed to high temperatures. I've seen plenty of people suffer from heat stroke in 70 degree weather due to complications related to dehydration and medication/substance use because their body's ability to cool itself was impaired.

And do you think cold weather is good for cardiac patients? Cold weather can cause bronchoconstriction which can exacerbate dyspnea in patients with congestive heart failure and COPD which often coexists in cardiac patients. Cold weather also causes blood to shunt toward the heart which impairs peripheral circulation.

Nonetheless, weather has really little to do with the cardiac fitness of a patient. It has to do with the patient's own conditioning, weight (obese?), fluid status and compliance with diet and medications.

There is a reason people don't retire in cold weather cities. Did you think that was just a coincidence? I mean I don't recall droves of people from Florida, Arizona and California retiring in Green Bay. Minnesota isn't exactly known as a retirement hotbed.

[Pirate0202]

Tijlover - thanks for answering those questions. I've been to Vegas a few times when it's been nasty cold and windy, so I wouldn't want to live there.

And yes! That is one thing I'm really looking forward to in AZ is all the midwest transplants since I'm from Chicago! There is definitely a camaraderie amongst us! Speaking of that, do you know a good bar in Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe where Chicago Bears fans go to watch the games on TV?

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Pirate0202

Tijlover - thanks for answering those questions. I've been to Vegas a few times when it's been nasty cold and windy, so I wouldn't want to live there.

And yes! That is one thing I'm really looking forward to in AZ is all the midwest transplants since I'm from Chicago! There is definitely a camaraderie amongst us! Speaking of that, do you know a good bar in Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe where Chicago Bears fans go to watch the games on TV?

Payton's Place if it is still open but generally every bar in Phoenix will have a huge lot of Bears, Packers, and Vikings fans. A good sports bar is Zips

[Pirate0202]

Thanks azriverfan. You are a wealth of knowledge!

Another question for you Phoenicians out there -- I've heard about the bad air quality in the Valley area.... but coming from LA, it will probably be a step up! That being said, one of the reasons I live so close to the beach in LA is to avoid the smog. The winds here are almost always from the west, and there's not much pollution coming at us from Hawaii! Riverside on the other hand has terrible smog, since those westerly winds push it right up to the mountains where it stays. The native Indians called this area "The Valley of the Smokes," since when a fire started the smoke would stay around for weeks. Probably a bad place to put a big city with lots of cars! LOL

So are there areas in and around Phoenix that have better or worse air pollution than the average for the whole region?

[Nanny Goat]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Yes, but it's 88 and dry which is a huge difference from a physiological standpoint. Humidity inhibits the body's cooling system. The humidity in the air inhibits the evaporative cooling effect from perspiration being drawn away. If there is excess vapor in the air (humid), the sweat has difficulty evaporating and drawing heat off so your body struggles to get rid of this heat. Most cases of heat stroke are caused by the body's impaired ability to cool itself as opposed to being exposed to high temperatures. I've seen plenty of people suffer from heat stroke in 70 degree weather due to complications related to dehydration and medication/substance use because their body's ability to cool itself was impaired.

And do you think cold weather is good for cardiac patients? Cold weather can cause bronchoconstriction which can exacerbate dyspnea in patients with congestive heart failure and COPD which often coexists in cardiac patients. Cold weather also causes blood to shunt toward the heart which impairs peripheral circulation.

Nonetheless, weather has really little to do with the cardiac fitness of a patient. It has to do with the patient's own conditioning, weight (obese?), fluid status and compliance with diet and medications.

There is a reason people don't retire in cold weather cities. Did you think that was just a coincidence? I mean I don't recall droves of people from Florida, Arizona and California retiring in Green Bay. Minnesota isn't exactly known as a retirement hotbed.

Docs like to have the last word.

[Howard Roark]

Pirate,

I noticed the same thing in this part of LA (you said earlier that you livei in the South Bay). The air is cleaner here. It's even cleaner over PVE, as that's up on the hill. I fly out of LAX to get back to my other home to Phoenix and notice the air around PVE is cleaner.

Take it from me: In Phoenix you can see much further than in LA if you are inland about ten miles.

If you are wondering about cleaner areas in the Phoenix metro, I would assume the towns of Maricopa and Casa Grande to the south or of Tonopah to the west. Globe to the east. Those are far drives though!

Traditionally, I love interesting weather, as I grew up in central California and loved the rainstorms particularly in March. The monsoon is interesting, but I hunger for more, like Tucson has.

A few weeks back I wrote in this thread that my rotator cuff pain went away due to drier weather now in LA. But the temps have become colder lately and I notice my pain is returning. Bummer. I have to be interested in dry weather and watch rainstorms on video in my future years!

Hope to be able to get the best of both worlds by becoming independently upper middle class and just live in LA by the ocean in a rental in May through September and in Phoenix otherwise. If I cannot have that, I would pick Flagstaff in the summer. But I have to continue my consulting past the age of 60 to be able to get to that point.

I'm looking to follow the pain free seasons, in other words. I think I can handle the dry Phoenix wiinters pain free.

Originally Posted by Pirate0202

Thanks azriverfan. You are a wealth of knowledge!

Another question for you Phoenicians out there -- I've heard about the bad air quality in the Valley area.... but coming from LA, it will probably be a step up! That being said, one of the reasons I live so close to the beach in LA is to avoid the smog. The winds here are almost always from the west, and there's not much pollution coming at us from Hawaii! Riverside on the other hand has terrible smog, since those westerly winds push it right up to the mountains where it stays. The native Indians called this area "The Valley of the Smokes," since when a fire started the smoke would stay around for weeks. Probably a bad place to put a big city with lots of cars! LOL

So are there areas in and around Phoenix that have better or worse air pollution than the average for the whole region?

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Phoenix lady

Docs like to have the last word.

True but we also like to educate people about health issues so hopefully you learned something