The idea that age is just a number is great when you’re writing your first novel later in life, or when you’re marrying your soulmate who happens to be younger than you.

However, this is not the case when it comes to shoveling snow, which many of us do every winter. When it snows, especially during large storms, the incidence of sudden heart attacks spikes by about 16% in men of a certain age. A large Canadian study over 20 years found a 34% increase in mortality. (Study authors did not find a similar association for women, but noted that men are apparently more likely to clear driveways, especially when there is a snow apocalypse.)

Why is snow removal so dangerous for some people?

Let’s start with the fact that wet snow is very heavy. In one study of men, the average weight shoveled was 16 pounds. “That’s 16 pounds per shovel and 12 lifts per minute for him,” said Roberts, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and a specialist in preventive cardiology and cardiology at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Michigan. says Dr. Barry Franklin, Director of Rehabilitation. That’s about 2000 pounds, which is the weight of a subcompact SUV. In another study conducted many years ago by Franklin and his team, the heart rate of shovelers increased by up to 97% of their maximum heart rate, more than when the same person performed a treadmill test at maximum effort. I found out that it does.

Secondly, snowstorms occur when it is cold. When you exhale into cold air, your blood vessels constrict, making it harder for blood to circulate around your body. This raises blood pressure and makes it harder for the heart to get enough blood, he says.

However, the unique dangers associated with snow shoveling are related to the task itself. That’s why the American Heart Association is working to raise awareness about the inherent dangers of snow shoveling. Here’s why:

• Shoveling snow is a static exercise. This means standing in one place and using your upper body to lift piles of thick, wet snow. “When you do this type of exercise, your heart rate and blood pressure suddenly increase significantly,” says Franklin.
• According to Franklin, lifting with your arms puts a lot more work on your heart than lifting the same weight with your legs.
• When you lift or push your body, you tend to tense up and hold your breath, which also increases your heart rate and blood pressure.
• If you stand still while shoveling snow or using a snowblower, it means that your heart is pumping, but your legs aren’t moving, so blood pools in your lower legs. Mr. Franklin explains. In other words, it’s hard to get back into your heart.
• And the heart’s arteries constrict due to the cold. He says these are the size of boiled spaghetti. It increases blood pressure and reduces the amount of blood sent to the heart.

What does age have to do with it?

“If you’re 20 or 30 years old, you don’t have any problems because you don’t have coronary artery disease,” Franklin says. “However, this activity is extremely dangerous for people over the age of 45 to 50 with known or hidden heart disease, especially those with sedentary habits.”

Note that he said “hidden” heart disease. Many of us have heart disease that we don’t even know about. If you are not aware of the symptoms, there is no reason to seek diagnosis. “If you’re over 50 and grew up eating McDonald’s and Ben & Jerry’s, you probably have some heart disease. That’s just a fact,” Franklin says.

The same is true if you have diabetes or high blood pressure (both risk factors for heart disease), even if you don’t have heart symptoms such as chest pain. “The first and last symptom of heart disease may be cardiac arrest,” he says.

Of course, there are physically fit middle-aged people who can cope better with this level of exercise. “Everyone is different, so we can’t set a breaking point based on age or gender,” Franklin says. “All I can say is that if you exercise regularly, have normal cholesterol levels, and don’t smoke, it’s intuitive that you’re at low risk, but that doesn’t mean there’s no risk at all. Our predictive ability is still limited. It’s incomplete.”

Regarding the risks for women, Dr. Franklin said that relevant research has only focused on men, and that snow removal is equally dangerous for women of a certain age because there are fewer women who clear snow on a population level. He states that it is difficult to prove that. shovel. Still, he says, “It’s true that women are just as susceptible to coronary artery disease as men, and there have been reports of heart attacks and some deaths in women after clearing snow.”

So, is there a safer way than clearing your driveway?

yes!

• Pay your neighborhood kid. A must-see for people in their 70s and 80s. Even if you’ve been doing OK in the past, it’s time to put down the shovel, especially if you have a history of smoking or are at risk for other heart conditions, Franklin says.
• Don’t lift, push. Franklin says it’s easier on the heart to shovel snow away than to lift it.
• Please be careful as the wind will be cold. Vasoconstriction is even worse if the actual perceived temperature is very low. Always dress in layers and wear hats, gloves, and scarves.
• Avoid heavy meals Smoking or drinking alcohol before or after shoveling snow.
• start and stop. If you take a work-and-rest approach, your heart rate and blood pressure will return to normal, he says. “Don’t try to do everything at once.”
• Use an electric snow blower. This is still dangerous if you have heart disease or other health issues, but it’s somewhat safer because you’re moving, Franklin says.
• Don’t ignore symptoms. “If you have any pain or discomfort anywhere above your belly button, stop,” says Franklin. Also, if you experience any signs of a heart attack, call 911 or go to the emergency room right away.

Stephanie (she/her) is the Director of the Hearst Health Newsroom, where she writes, edits, and oversees all health content. excellent housekeeping, prevention and other Hearst titles. She has covered women’s physical and mental health, nutrition, sexuality, and numerous topics within women in national publications for decades. She is also a best-selling author, a mother of twins, a dog mother, and an intuitive eater.