Snow shoveling: beware of myocardial infarction!

Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

MunichShoveling snow is one of the annoying chores in everyday winter life. But for some, the sweaty activity also leaves physical traces: not only sore muscles, tendon complaints, back pain. People with cardiovascular diseases should be particularly careful.

In people who suffer from coronary artery disease or high blood pressure, the heart reaches its limit faster. Because with physical exertion, not only does the heart muscle increase its oxygen demand, it also has to overcome greater resistance, i.e. work harder.

Studies show that heart attacks are more common while shoveling snow. Men are particularly affected. Probably because they take on the unpopular activity more often, believe the emergency physicians at the Insel Hospital in Bern, Thomas Sauter and his colleagues.

In total, they sifted through the data of almost 350,000 patients who had sought help at the Bern hospital between 2001 and 2013. They came across a total of 20 patients who had serious health problems as a result of shoveling snow, including 15 men and five women between the ages of 47 and 77 years.

The reasons for hospitalization varied: five patients suffered from acute heart problems, two complained of abdominal pain and two other neurological disorders. The remaining eleven patients had orthopedic complaints.

Even among the patients treated only on an outpatient basis, cases for the orthopedic surgeon dominated with 85 percent. Falls on black ice or contortions while shoveling snow are not uncommon.

When it is cold, the vessels contract

But why is the risk of a heart attack, heart failure or angina attack higher when shoveling snow? When the air temperature is low, the blood vessels in the skin contract. Heart rate and blood pressure increase. In addition, the blood becomes more viscous. The heart therefore has to use more force to pump the blood through the vessels.

A healthy heart usually copes well with it. A weak or sick heart, on the other hand, is quickly overwhelmed. The heart muscle is overloaded and no longer adequately supplied with oxygen.

People with coronary heart disease (CHD), whose coronary vessels are narrowed by arteriosclerosis, are particularly at risk. In addition, patients who suffer from cardiac arrhythmias due to narrowed coronary arteries are also particularly susceptible.

Probably a high number of unreported cases

The researchers cite only 20 cases examined. However, studies from the USA confirm the health risks of shoveling snow: an average of 4.15 per 100,000 inhabitants are treated in emergency medicine there every year.

The researchers add that it is quite conceivable that the doctors at the Insel Hospital did not always make the connection between the admission of a patient and the snow shoveling. In addition, the widespread snow removal in Switzerland could reduce the number of cases.

Avoid peak loads

You should also be physically active in the cold. Cardiac patients should, however, avoid intense physical exertion with high stress peaks, especially when it is cold. This also includes lifting a heavy, snow-laden shovel, warns the German Heart Foundation.

Complaints such as shortness of breath, chest pain or a feeling of pressure, especially when shoveling snow, should be taken very seriously. It is safest to stop working and see a doctor.

Sources:

Thomas Sauter et al .: The snow, the men, the shovel, the risk? ER admissions after snow shovelling: 13 winters in Bern. Swiss Medical Weekly. doi: 10.4414 / smw.2015.14104

German Heart Foundation, www.herzstiftung.de (accessed on February 3, 2015)

Tags:  prevention symptoms fitness