BECKLEY -
The snow shovel is the main household weapon in the fight to clear a path following a significant snowstorm. Published reports indicate that there are no specific statistics on snow shoveling deaths in the nation, but a 1993 study in The New England Journal of Medicine looked at 1,228 heart-attack victims and found that out-of-shape people increased their risk of a heart attack by a hundredfold when they shoveled snow. Even regular exercisers doubled their risk. Dr. Marc Sodums is an Interventional Cardiologist at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley.
"Most people don't realize the amount of exertion the amount of load on your circulation that when you go out and exercise in the very cold weather without warming up," Dr. Marc Sodums an Interventional Cardiologist said.
Clearing snow from sidewalks is one of the universal truths when it comes to digging out after a big snowstorm, but who wants to dig their own grave? Doctors say there are things you can do to reduce the risk of becoming a health casualty following a heavy snowfall.
"So the first thing you should do is you should warm up before you go out and shovel snow. It's a little bit like starting you car when it's sub-zero and then flooring the gas pedal before you let the engine warm up. It put a huge load on your circulation, on your blood pressure and warming up first is a very smart idea both for circulation and your heart and also for muscular-skeletal problems like back, legs, what-not," Dr. Sodums said.
There is another health-related issue that can arise for some seniors when facing a big snowstorm: making sure you've got what you need to ride out the weather.
"I think basically they should get what they need as far as their medicines go. Make sure that they have enough food for themselves and if they have animals, make sure that their animals have food. And the same thing for everybody else. Ya know, flashlight, radio in case the power goes out, that sort of thing," Sherri Lucreo, Raleigh County Commission on Aging said.
So getting what you need and warming up before tackling the snow shoveling will reduce your risk of becoming a victim of the snowstorm.
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