PRINCETON, W. Va. -The dangers of winter weather can go beyond slick roads, with even something as simple as clearing the driveway of snow potentially becoming deadly. Dr. Edwin Leap with WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital says wherever you see heavy snowfall, heart attacks from shoveling snow are a common occurrence, with the wet snow on the East Coast being especially dangerous.
Heart attacks can be triggered by over-exerting yourself, especially if you have known medical issues like heart disease. However, you may even have a condition without knowing, which can be revealed during strenuous activity like shoveling snow.
“So when you have a narrowed blood vessel in your heart, that is already working a little extra hard to pump oxygen to itself and the rest of your body, so when it has to work even harder to pump blood to muscles and kidneys, brain, and liver because of the cold and exertion, then the blood supply to the heart can get sort of outstripped, so the heart has a heart attack,” says Dr. Leap.
Some of the signs you can see of a heart attack include shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, sweats, and pain up the neck or down the arm. However, it may be more subtle, such as lightheadedness and weakness, or only one of the possible symptoms.
“…These symptoms are particularly challenging in some groups, because, for instance, women have often… different symptoms that are more subtle or maybe more like just weakness or just arm pain. Back pain may be part of that. Some people will have just very vague symptoms like only nausea, but, classically, it’s shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, sweats, and the pain will go up the neck or down the arm,” says Dr. Leap.
Citing the Cleveland Clinic, Doctor Leap says those over 55 with more than one serious medical problem should avoid shoveling snow if possible.
“…If you’re shoveling snow, if you have a history of heart disease or think you might, you probably, a, either shouldn’t or should do small bits of shoveling at a time and take rest in between. You shouldn’t push it hard. If you get symptoms, you really should sit down and call 911. I mean, we don’t want to take a chance on this, because if someone has a heart attack, the most feared thing that will happen is a cardiac arrhythmia, so their heart would go into an irregular rhythm, and they’ll pass out, and they have no more blood supply to their heart,” says Dr. Leap.
Dr. Leap says it is in that moment that “the clock starts ticking” to get the heart started again.
If someone you know who is at risk of a heart attack does decide to shovel snow, he encourages you to watch to make sure they’re okay and be ready with a phone to call an ambulance. He also recommends taking classes on CPR or defibrillators to be ready if you need to potentially save a life.
Dr. Leap says heart attack prevention can start before the first snowflake falls. Smoking can be a “huge contributor” to heart disease, so you should consider quitting. You should also eat fewer high-fat meals, exercise to stay in shape, and lower your blood pressure.
Copyright 2025 WVVA. All rights reserved.