Overview
- Following early-season storms, the American Heart Association and clinicians are renewing guidance that shoveling can trigger acute cardiac events, especially in sedentary people or those with cardiovascular risk factors.
- Studies show heavy shoveling can drive heart rates above 85% of maximum within minutes, with estimates around 170 beats per minute versus about 120 when using a snow blower.
- Men face a disproportionate burden, with research linking heavy snowfall to higher rates of heart attack hospitalizations and deaths among male patients.
- Experts cite no single age cutoff: AHA chief medical officer John Osborne urges extra caution for adults 65 and older, while Barry Franklin has previously advised those over 45 to avoid the task.
- Safety steps include using a blower, pushing rather than lifting, dressing in layers, pacing with breaks, and stopping for chest pain, shortness of breath or palpitations, with historical data noting nearly 200,000 ER visits and over 1,600 deaths from 1990 to 2006.