Snow Shoveling Can Prove to be Risky

Native News Network Staff in Native Health. Discussion »

Be Careful

BETHESDA, MARYLAND - With the beginning of winter upon us, it is good to remind those of us who live in wintry climates, the risks of heart attack from overdoing it when shoveling snow.

If you don't exercise on a regular basis, you should be careful when shoveling snow.

"There are short-term increases in risk of heart attack and death from sudden cardiac events that follow episodic physical activity,"

commented Jessica Paulus, an assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University in Boston.

She and her colleagues reviewed data from 14 studies to find that:

People felt the effects of sporadic activity just one or two hours later. Risk was highest for those who did not get regular exercise.

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Exercise on a regular basis and you'll decrease your risk for heart problems. But shovel the snow, or suddenly run down the street to catch the bus and your risk of a heart attack or cardiac arrest jumps like your heart does.

posted December 21, 2011 10:50 am est