It’s been a while since the D.C. region was hit with the kind of snow and ice forecast for the upcoming weekend, and it’s exactly why doctors are now issuing warnings to not overdo it Sunday when it gets to shoveling time.
“After big snowstorms like this, we sometimes see folks that come in for heart attacks,” said Dr. Sudip Saha, a cardiologist with Kaiser Permanente. “We tend to see more after they try to do a strenuous exercise or activity, like trying to shovel their driveway.”
He said people who might be older, and perhaps not at the physical peaks they once were, need to be especially careful.
“In cold environments, our blood vessels tend to constrict more, it raises our blood pressure,” Saha said.
“And when we suddenly try to do something like shoveling snow, it could … put a lot of stress on things like our heart and our blood vessels, and these are times where it’s more likely to have a heart attack.”
He said it’s better to think of shoveling snow like exercise. You want to warm up first, and even do some stretching — something that will get your heart rate up a bit before you bundle up and go outside.
Saha said that normally when people exercise, “we tend to listen to our body a little more and stop when we feel tired.”
“With snow shoveling, we oftentimes will just want to keep doing it until the job is done. So I tell folks, if they do try to shovel their own snow, to try to do it in intervals. Try to do a little bit at a time, rest and then listen to your body,” Saha said.
He said if you feel chest pain or pressure, you shouldn’t keep shoveling. Instead, get ready to call 911.
Other symptoms to watch out for include severe shortness of breath, lightheadedness or dizziness.
(Another easy way to avoid all that? Find a teenager down the street looking to make some extra money.)
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