Why does shoveling

If you're shoveling when the snow is light and fresh, Hope recommends using a wide, all-purpose, plastic snow shovel. But if the snow has had time to get wet and heavy, Hope suggests using a metal shovel with sides to help break up icy patches.

Driving in snow: Tips for driving in snow without being a dangerous jerk. Franklin said that those most at risk are 55 and older, have known or suspected coronary artery disease, or have one or more risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension high blood pressure or a habitually sedentary lifestyle. Snow shoveling is so dangerous because it increases heart rate and blood pressure, Franklin explained, while exposure to the cold air decreases the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart.

Franklin said the average weight of a shovel full of heavy wet snow is 16 pounds, citing a small study he published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The men he studied were able to lift 12 times per minute for 10 minutes, moving nearly 2, pounds of snow. Franklin said people over the age of 55 with known or suspected heart disease shouldn't shovel snow at all. If you want to hire someone to plow your driveway, book that well in advance of the coming storm to avoid having to frantically shovel yourself out, Hope said.

If you have to shovel, Franklin said to avoid heavy meals, smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol both before and after clearing snow because that can put extra stress on your heart. Franklin considers snow shovelling to be so dangerous that he advises anyone over the age of 55 not to do it. If you must do it, push rather than lift the snow, dress in layers, take regular breaks indoors and don't eat or smoke before shovelling, he advises.

Using a snow blower is a better option, but there have also been heart attacks recorded in men using blowers, including one fatality in Buffalo on Wednesday. Reporting by Jo Jolly. Why is topical vitamin C important for skin health? Preventing preeclampsia may be as simple as taking an aspirin. Caring for an aging parent?

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The risk of having a cardiac event while you are in a rested state is low, but you are more likely to have a cardiac event while performing vigorous exercise. Despite this, it is widely accepted that the benefits far outweigh the risks and should be encouraged. In fact, the more physically active you are, the less the acute risk is. Being in good shape can give you added cardio-protection. Snow shoveling is particularly demanding in this regard.

When you are healthy, your body has the ability to increase oxygen supply as the demand increases. However, when coronary disease is present, blockages in the coronary vessels can limit blood flow, leading to slowed and inadequate oxygen supply. When the heart muscle the myocardium does not get sufficient oxygen, it can rapidly fail because it is highly dependent on blood flow oxygen to generate normal contractions.

Very few studies have examined the physiology of snow shoveling because it is technically difficult to do so. We do know that the cardiovascular demands of snow shoveling are very high. There are two aspects of snow shoveling that make it unusual for the heart compared to, for example, walking or jogging.

First and obviously, it is typically performed in cold weather.