Study underscores heart-attack risk from snow shoveling

Published 9:11 am Friday, April 14, 2017

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that large amounts of snowfall were associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, primarily in men.

By the numbers — Researchers from the University of Montreal compared snowfall records from 1981 to 2014 with hospital admissions for heart attacks the following day. When more than 7½ inches of snow fell, the risk of a hospital admission for a heart attack rose 16 percent and the risk of death from a heart attack rose 34 percent among men. Similar but smaller associations were found when snow fell for more than 24 hours.

Bottom line — While the study did not look at snow shoveling specifically, the implication is that men are having heart attacks shoveling snow. The study could only consider past data, so it’s not possible to draw a firm conclusion that shoveling snow will lead to heart attacks. But the large numbers of hospital admissions (128,000) and heart attack deaths (68,000) give credence to the theory. Other studies have also supported a link between the heavy exertion in shoveling snow and the risk of heart attack deaths.

— Bulletin staff report