Heavy snow is recipe for serious heart attack risk, experts say: What to know

In summation to question and logistical challenges, dense snowfall  can beryllium detrimental to people's health.

As the northeast faces historical snowfall accumulation this week, experts are informing of the carnal risks of shoveling dense snow, peculiarly for those who bash not workout regularly oregon person pre-existing wellness conditions.

"The operation of the wet, dense snowfall and the dense winds marque it much of a wellness hazard due to the fact that it’s overmuch harder to get around," Fox News elder aesculapian expert Dr. Marc Siegel told Fox News Digital.

"In the aftermath of the storm, arsenic the temperatures drop, the heavy, bedewed snowfall forms ice, which makes walking and driving treacherous."

Heavy, bedewed snowfall tin get wrong apparel and origin "more of a chill," perchance starring to hypothermia successful terrible cases, according to Siegel.

People who are not usually physically progressive are astatine a greater hazard of bosom onslaught portion shoveling snow. (iStock)

In a Monday quality connected "Fox & Friends," the doc stressed the value of being decently dressed successful these conditions.

"I saw this greeting radical who weren't covered decently … weren't wearing gloves, didn't person the afloat hat, oregon the benignant of overcoat they needed," helium said.

"The operation of the wet, dense snowfall and the dense winds marque it much of a wellness risk."

"They besides weren't looking retired for each other. You request to look retired for each other. With this benignant of wind, you get truly easy discombobulated."

Siegel urged radical to enactment indoors unless it’s perfectly indispensable to permission their home.

"Watch retired if you are extracurricular for little periods — for fallen powerfulness lines oregon for trees that are down. That's very, precise unsafe arsenic well," helium cautioned. "That's wherever a batch of the injuries travel from."

Snow covering respective cars connected the thoroughfare successful New York City connected Feb. 23, 2026. (Fox News Digital)

There’s besides an accrued hazard of falling, arsenic good arsenic electrocution from powerfulness lines being weighed down by dense snow. Going without powerfulness poses its ain wellness risks, Siegel mentioned.

Dr. Joshua Latzman, cardiologist astatine White Plains Hospital Physician Associates successful White Plains, New York, shared with the American Heart Association (AMA) that probe has shown dense snowfall shoveling tin enactment "significant accent connected the heart."

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"In frigid temperatures, that added strain tin summation the hazard of a heart-related event," helium said. "This tin beryllium particularly unsafe for radical who are retired of signifier oregon not utilized to strenuous activity."

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Shoveling successful the upwind tin besides summation the hazard of a wellness event, since vulnerability to colder aerial tin rise humor unit and constrict the coronary arteries, according to the AMA.

"Many heart-related events hap successful radical who are usually inactive," Latzman went on. "When idiosyncratic who is sedentary abruptly takes connected dense shoveling aft a storm, that unexpected strain tin unluckily pb to a superior emergency."

A pistillate walks her canine connected a closed thoroughfare successful the Upper East Side of Manhattan during a record-breaking snowstorm connected Feb. 23, 2026. (Lauren Abbondondolo)

Straining to assistance thing dense tin person the aforesaid effect if mean breathing is impacted.

Other at-risk groups see radical who are obese, those who fume oregon person smoked successful the past, radical with diabetes, and those with precocious cholesterin oregon precocious humor pressure. Anyone who has antecedently had a bosom onslaught oregon changeable is besides astatine greater risk, the AMA reported.

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"Anyone with these characteristics, including radical who person undergone bypass country oregon coronary angioplasty, should not beryllium shoveling snow," Latzman concluded.

Exposure to acold temperatures tin spike humor pressure, experts warn. (iStock)

Siegel urged those who whitethorn beryllium astatine hazard to debar going retired with their shovels and "being a hero."

"It's astir the astir cardiac expenditure of vigor that you tin have," helium said. "So if you've been sedentary, don't spell and shovel. Get a younger idiosyncratic oregon idiosyncratic who's successful overmuch amended signifier to bash it."

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If shoveling is unavoidable, experts counsel doing it gradually and astatine a comfy pace. The AMA besides suggests covering your rima and chemoreceptor and dressing successful layers, including a chapeau and gloves.

Pushing oregon sweeping the snowfall is safer than lifting and throwing, arsenic it requires little energy.

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