Shoveling snow and heart attacks, plus a snowpack update
Should snow shovels come with a warning label?
I love it when myths get debunked, so when I’ve heard people talk about the threat of shoveling snow leading to heart attacks, I’ve been skeptical and wondered if this warning was akin to the bogus notion that cold weather causes the common cold.
But it turns out the advice about shoveling being a potential widow-maker is no old wives’ tale. There’s actually solid science and medical research, plus plenty of death certificates, to back up the claim: shoveling snow does pose a special danger of causing cardiac events, particularly for people with underlying health conditions.
“Research shows that many people may face an increased risk of a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest after shoveling heavy snow,” according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
In a 2020 scientific statement about exercise-related cardiovascular events, the AHA noted that “snow shoveling has repeatedly been associated with increased cardiovascular events soon after major snowstorms,” especially among people who aren’t used to the heavy exertion. Besides causing heart attacks, shoveling can increase the risk of angina, blood clots, and abnormal heartbeats.
The AHA quotes Barry Franklin, “one of the leading experts on the science behind the cardiovascular risks of snow shoveling,” whose studies have estimated that “hundreds of people die during or just after snow removal in the U.S. each year”:
Shoveling a little snow off your sidewalk may not seem like hard work. However, the strain of heavy snow shoveling may be as or even more demanding on the heart than taking a treadmill stress test, according to research we’ve conducted.
For example, after only two minutes of snow shoveling, study participants’ heart rates exceeded 85% of maximal heart rate, which is a level more commonly expected during intense aerobic exercise testing. The impact is hardest on those people who are least fit.
My own heart rate data from an Apple Watch confirms that shoveling is serious exercise. It’s such a vigorous workout that I even upload my snow removal sessions to the Strava exercise app.
A 2017 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal concluded that a 20-centimeter storm (7.9”) in the province of Quebec was associated with a 16% increase in the odds of men being admitted to the hospital with a heart attack and a 34% rise in the chance of men suffering a fatal heart attack.
Among women in the Quebec study, which examined data from 1981 to 2014, there was no increased risk of heart attacks. In a 2023 story by The Oakland Press, Franklin said that’s partly because men view snow removal as their job. “It’s a macho thing,” he said.
In a January interview with The Washington Post, Franklin noted some of the reasons why shoveling can be deadly:
Exercising with your arms can stress the heart more than using your legs
Periods of standing still can pool blood in the lower extremities
People may hold their breath while shoveling, which raises one’s heart rate and blood pressure
Cold weather can constrict blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and strain the heart
Franklin is so concerned about the dangers of shoveling snow that he told AARP that anyone older than 45 should avoid it because 85% of U.S. adults who are 50 or older already have underlying cardiovascular disease. In an interview with USA Today, Franklin said people should put a warning label on their shovels that reads: “Warning. Use of this instrument for snow removal may be hazardous to your health.”
While some experts recommend using a snow blower instead of shoveling where possible, “there are even studies that show an increased risk for heart attacks among people using automatic snow blowers,” according to the AHA. Piloting those mechanical beasts entails its own exertion—not to mention the carnage if you stick your hand inside while it’s running, plus the noxious fumes from gas-powered models.
“Emergency departments in the snow-belt gear up for extra cases when enough of the white stuff has fallen to force folks out of their homes armed with shovels or snow blowers.”
Cardiovascular events are just one of the risks of shoveling snow, which is also notorious for back injuries and wipeouts on ice. Researchers have found that people may move hundreds or thousands of pounds of snow in a shoveling session. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found that nearly 200,000 people visited an emergency room from 1990 to 2006 due to shoveling snow, or about 11,500 every year, with around 96% of injuries occurring at home.
About 55% of patients were diagnosed with soft-tissue injury, and 34% had hurt their lower back. Overexertion, slips, falls, and being struck by a snow shovel were the most common mechanisms of injury. While cardiac-related cases only accounted for about 7% of visits, they were the cause of all 1,647 deaths in the study.
As you’d expect, doctors caution that anyone who is already at increased risk of cardiovascular problems should not shovel snow. If you do shovel, you should dress appropriately, warm up, take breaks, stay hydrated, bend your knees while lifting, limit how much snow you try to move with each stroke, and focus more on pushing the snow rather than lifting it.
Sorry for the morbid subject matter, but cardiovascular health has been on my mind.
Two neighbors have suffered heart attacks in the past year. And in May, on the fifth and final day of my Wilderness First Responder course in Durango, a 66-year-old man collapsed due to a heart attack while walking on the sidewalk outside our classroom at the La Plata County Fairgrounds.
Talk about a teachable moment.
I ran out with our instructors and watched as they and other first responders used CPR, an AED, a LUCAS chest compression device, and other frantic efforts to try to save his life.
The patient was unresponsive and looked dead to me. I’ll never forget watching his lifeless body jerk after the paramedics yelled “clear” and administered several shocks in a last-ditch effort to restart his heart while his brain was starving for oxygen.
As the wailing ambulance peeled away and we walked back to the classroom, the patient’s prognosis seemed grim.
I was depressed for a few days, then relieved to see the Durango Herald’s front-page story about the patient’s survival—and how 911 dispatchers were able to alert someone at the fairgrounds to grab the AED stationed there.
Moral of the story: CPR and AEDs can save lives, so if you have any interest in getting trained, you should do it! You just might save the life of a snow shoveler someday.
And if you need some comic relief, may I prescribe the hilarious excerpt below from “Mr. Plow,” one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons. “Are you tired of having your hands cut off by snow blowers and the inevitable heart attacks that come with shoveling snow?” Homer asks in this classic episode from 1992 in which he and barfly Barney Gumble operate rival plow businesses.
Snowpack update
With meteorological spring starting tomorrow, the West’s snowpack is a mixed bag. The graphic below shows the snow water equivalent for February 28.
There’s still a lot of yellow and orange to the north, indicating below-normal conditions in Washington and Montana, plus portions of Idaho and Wyoming. The situation is better to the south, where there’s more green and blue (near or above the median) in the Four Corners states and Nevada.
After a dismal start, California’s snowpack has improved significantly thanks to those atmospheric rivers and other storms. The February 29 graphic below shows the statewide average is 80% of normal, but the Sierra Nevada is expected to get a ton of snow over the next few days.
Across the nation, there’s been a shortage of snow in many states along the Northern Tier. For an interesting look at how the “lost winter” has played out in the Upper Midwest, check out this February 28 story from Scott Dance of The Washington Post, who sums up the situation this way: “Snowless ground so muddy, you’d think it was April. Lake ice too thin to support pickup trucks, if even ice fishers themselves. Empty snowmobiling trails. Bars and hotels desperate for visitors.”
The animation below shows changes in snow depth since October 1. It’s interesting to see how ephemeral the snow is in many locations as the West’s mountain snowpack stacks up.
🎉 Milestone alert
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Well, shoot, now I’m going to have to find a svelte under 45 yo to shovel the Reno snow that is about to bury us. Maybe that’s not all bad. :)
"Senor Plow no es macho..."