Why Shoveling Snow Can Be Deadly
If you have diabetes, heart problems or high blood pressure, or simply aren't in good shape, you may want to hold off on clearing your driveway of fresh powder. Experts say you could hurt yourself, or cause a heart attack or stroke.
Each year, snow shoveling results in more than 11,000 emergency room visits and nearly 100 deaths.
Blood vessels constrict when you're really cold, which decreases the blood supply you're getting to your vital organs, explained Lawrence Phillips, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, in an interview with The Washington Post.
Oftentimes, people who haven't exercised in months or years underestimate the amount of work that goes into digging out snow, Phillips said, and then they overexert themselves. People over 55 are more than four times as likely as younger patients to experience heart-health issues while shoveling snow, according to The Post.
William Suddath, an interventional cardiologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, said his hospital experienced a "wave" of heart-attack emergencies triggered by shoveling snow during 2010's "Snowmaggedon."
Clearing mounds of snow is like "beginning a weightlifting program in freezing temperatures without any preparation," Suddath said.
Get expert tips on snow-shoveling safety at The Washington Post.
