Shoveling Snow and Heart Attacks

Above, yours truly with the snow shovel last November.

This is the season for snow shoveling. As such, people with a history of heart problems should get someone else to do it, according to an article in HealthDay.

This also includes people who have had an angioplasty and bypass surgery.

I had an angioplasty back in July 2018 to have two stents installed. I shoveled snow several times this past month, most recently as yesterday. I try to confine my snow shoveling to just the walkways.

The article starts with:

MONDAY, Jan. 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Snowstorms are blanketing the United States, prompting countless Americans to pick up snow shovels and clear walkways and driveways.

Shoveling snow is more than a chore, however -- it can be a health hazard.

The exertion of shoveling snow increases a person’s risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest, warns the American Heart Association.

Snow shoveling has a prominent place among physical activities that place extra stress on the heart, especially for folks who aren’t used to regular exercise, the AHA says.

"Shoveling a little snow off your sidewalk may not seem like hard work. However, the strain of heavy snow shoveling may be as or even more demanding on the heart than taking a treadmill stress test, according to research we’ve conducted,” said Barry Franklin, director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Corewell Health East William Beaumont University Hospital, in Royal Oak, Mich.

Shoveling snow is mostly arm work, which is more taxing and demanding on the heart than leg work, Franklin explained.

 On people with a history of bypass surgery or angioplasty, the article states:

Snow removal is especially concerning for people who already have heart risks, such as couch potatoes, the obese, smokers, diabetics and survivors of previous heart attacks or strokes, Franklin said.

“People with these characteristics and those who have had bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty simply should not be shoveling snow in any conditions,” Franklin said.

“We often see events in people who are usually sedentary, they work at a computer all day or get little or no exercise,” he added. “Then once or twice a year they go out and try to shovel the driveway after a heavy snowfall and that unexpected exertion can unfortunately lead to tragedy.”

Franklin recommends that people with risk factors for heart disease get someone else to handle snow removal for them.

To read the full article, go here.