Snow Shoveling Really Does Raise Heart Attack Risk: Study
(HealthDay News) -- Snow shoveling does increase the risk of
heart attack, a new study confirms. While many people believe
this, there has been little actual evidence, according to
researchers at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. So they
decided to look for proof. They reviewed the records of 500
patients who went to Kingston General Hospital with heart
problems over two winter seasons. Of those patients, 35 (7
percent) started experiencing heart symptoms while shoveling
snow. "That is a huge number," Dr. Adrian Baranchuk, a professor
in Queen's School of Medicine and a cardiologist at Kingston
General Hospital, said in a university news release. "Seven
percent of anything in medicine is a significant proportion.
Also, if we take into account that we may have missed some
patients who did not mention that they were shoveling snow
around the time that the episode occurred, that number could
easily double," he explained. The researchers also identif