St. Louis is shoveling out from over a foot of snow, but before you grab that shovel pay attention to your heart.
When many who rarely exercise grab a shovel and lift hundreds of pounds of snow, their heart rate increases quickly and puts them at increased risk of heart attack.
“There are some people out there who don’t necessarily know they have blockages in their arteries,” says Michael Lim, MD, co-director of the Center for Comprehensive Cardiovascular Care at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and a SLUCare physician. “They might not exert themselves that much and then all of a sudden there’s a snowfall they go out and try to clear their driveway or sidewalk and they exert themselves to a point they don’t normally do and that may cause a heart attack.”
Bottom line: be careful out there
“We would ask people to pay attention to how they’re feeling,” says Dr. Lim. “They should exert themselves in moderation. If they feel tightness of pressure in their chest they should stop and come inside and seek medical attention.”
If anyone does feel they are having a heart attack, call 911 … lie down and wait for emergency medical staffers to arrive.
