The chances of men experiencing a heart attack go up after a snowfall, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
For the study, researchers tracked hospital admissions and deaths due to myocardial infarction in Quebec, Canada, that occurred each year from November to April. From 1981 to 2014, there were 128,073 individual hospital admissions and 68,155 deaths related to heart attack. Analysis revealed heart attack risk rose for men after a snowfall, but not for women. Eight inches of snow increased the risk for heart attack by 16 percent for men when compared to a day in the same month without snowfall.
"We suspect that shoveling was the main mechanism linking snowfall with myocardial infarction," wrote the study's authors, according to NBC News. "Men are potentially more likely than women to shovel, particularly after heavy snowfalls."
The study's authors write that snow shoveling is strenuous cardiovascular activity. When shoveling snow, appropriate cautions like stretching beforehand and taking it slow should be taken.
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