Shoveling raises heart attack risk
There are three main factors that put people at high risk for heart problems while shoveling snow. | File photo
Snow shoveling does increase the risk of heart attack, a new study confirms.
Researchers at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, reviewed the records of 500 patients who went to Kingston General Hospital with heart problems over two winter seasons. Of those patients, 35 (7 percent) started experiencing heart symptoms while shoveling snow.
“That is a huge number,” said Dr. Adrian Baranchuk, a professor in Queen’s School of Medicine and a cardiologist at Kingston General Hospital.
“Seven percent of anything in medicine is a significant proportion. Also, if we take into account that we may have missed some patients who did not mention that they were shoveling snow around the time that the episode occurred, that number could easily double,” he said.
The researchers also identified three main factors that put people at high risk for heart problems while shoveling snow:
† Being male (31 patients)
† Having a family history of premature coronary artery disease (20 patients)
† Smoking (16 patients).
The study was recently published online in the journal Clinical Research in Cardiology.
Gannett News Service
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