Shoveling Snow Can Set Off a Heart Attack

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

Published: February 1, 2005

THE FACTS As Americans dig their way out of the blizzard that blanketed parts of the Northeast last month, reports of people suffering heart attacks, snow shovel in hand, have surfaced. Many people do not take the risk seriously. But the claim that clearing snow is so strenuous that it can be deadly is no exaggeration, experts say.

Just being out in the cold raises blood pressure. Add to that the fact that shoveling is a tension-inducing isometric exercise, like weight lifting, and that it is often performed by older, otherwise sedentary men, and it is no surprise that the activity is linked to heart attacks, said Dr. Jacob I. Haft at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

In a small study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1996, Dr. Haft found that most heart attacks from shoveling resulted from trauma to coronary arteries, rupturing plaques that disrupt blood flow.

Most victims have no history of heart disease. In some cases, up to a quarter of those afflicted are women, a 1999 study by the National Center for Environmental Health found.

When shoveling must be done, it is best to do it early, when the snow is lighter, and in short stints, not all at once. Any exercise that involves the upper extremities puts added stress on the cardiovascular system, Dr. Haft said, so be cautious.

THE BOTTOM LINE Clearing snow is a common trigger of heart attacks, particularly in people with no previous history of cardiovascular disease.