Can shoveling snow put your heart at risk?

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling When it comes to heart disease, there’s lots of advice. There are heart-healthy diets and exercise programs to follow. Of course, if you smoke, you’re urged to stop. For those at highest risk or who already have heart disease, there are medications to take and monitoring of your condition to keep track of. A recent study suggests that for people who are at high risk for heart disease or who already have it, there’s a bit of new advice: don’t shovel snow. Shoveling snow and heart attack According to past estimates, about 100 people — mostly men — die during or just after shoveling snow each year in the US. Many more are admitted to the hospital with chest pain or other heart problems. This latest research further explored the details of this connection. Researchers correlated admissions to the hospital and deaths due to heart attack the day after it snowed in Canada during the years 1981 to 2014. This included more than 128,000 hospital admissions and more than 68,000 deaths due to heart attack. Here’s what they found: The deeper the snow, the more men were admitted for heart attacks. For example, for snowfalls of more than eight inches, there was a 16% increase in hospital admissions compared to days with no snow. The deeper the snow, the more men died of heart attacks.  A 34% increase was observed the day after an eight-inch snowfall, and higher rates were noted when even more snow fell. Similar observations were made for du...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Heart Health Source Type: blogs