Major winter storm brings warnings about heart attack risk of shoveling snow
As large parts of the U.S. dig out from a major winter storm, health officials are renewing warnings about the serious and potentially deadly risks of shoveling snow, which has been linked to heart attacks.
"Snow shoveling is definitely associated with an increased risk of both heart attack and sudden cardiac death, especially in men and those with unknown cardiac coronary heart disease, or with multiple cardiac risk factors," said Christopher Kramer, a cardiologist and University of Virginia Health and the president of the American College of Cardiology.
Cardiac risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, family history of heart disease, and tobacco use, as well as a sedentary lifestyle, Kramer told CBS News. He said the reason why shoveling snow can exacerbate them "is complex," involving the type of exercise as well as the environment.
The act of pushing and lifting snow can increase a person's heart rate and blood pressure even more than activities considered especially taxing, like running, said Kramer. And exposure to the cold only compounds the cardiac strain, as low temperatures alone can cause blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to spike, which are risk factors for heart attacks.
"You have a dual problem, that you're increasing demand for oxygen because of the workload, and you're reducing supply because of the constriction of the blood vessels in the cold," Kramer said. "So, you take someone who's not in shape, who has a lot of risk factors for heart disease, they're not getting regular exercise, and they go out on a very cold day and do what turns out to be one of the most vigorous forms of exercise you can do."
A 2020 report by the American Heart Association listed shoveling snow among the top physical activities that can place stress on the heart, particularly if a person is not accustomed to exercising. An updated warning from the association last month referenced numerous studies on the dangers of shoveling snow for people with and without heart disease.
Three people died while trying to shovel and clear snow in Pennsylvania's Lehigh County during this latest storm, CBS News Philadelphia reported, citing the county coroner's office. Their ages ranged from 60 to 84, and all three apparently experienced cardiac-related medical emergencies while shoveling.
The coroner's report said their deaths were ruled natural and consistent with cardiac events that can occur during "strenuous activity such as snow removal, particularly in older adults of those with underlying health conditions."
One of the station's meteorologists, Bill Kelly, urged people in the area to take precautions when it comes to clearing their sidewalks or driveways. He noted they were expecting a layer of sleet and freezing rain on top of the snow.
"If you go out and you shovel that, halfway through, if you shovel often, you're going to get a fresh layer of sleet and ice on the ground," Kelly said. "The good news is, smaller doses of exertion. That's good. But the layer of ice is going to be hard to clean as it gets going."
In Minnesota, which also saw significant snowfall and extremely cold temperatures, cardiologist Josh Buckler emphasized the importance of staying safe when it comes to temperature drops, physical exertion and heart health.
"I tell all my patients: Be cautious with shoveling," Buckler told CBS News Minnesota before the winter storm arrived. "There's some really great data that shows that for every 2-degree drop, after about 0 degrees, the heart attack risk goes up by about 2%. And that risk lasts for about 28 days afterwards."
A Canadian study published in 2017 found that heavy snowfall of about 8 inches in a particular area corresponded with a 16% increased risk of cardiac-related hospitalizations and a 34% increased risk of death from heart attacks in men.
Kramer said the gender-specific figure could simply be due to the fact that men took on the duty of shoveling most often.
To lower the chances of experiencing a heart attack, he recommends people with cardiac risk factors take breaks while shoveling snow, or better yet, avoid the task altogether.
"If you have these risk factors, pay the kid down the street to shovel your walk. Don't do it," he said. "If you have to do it, take breaks."