Can shoveling snow cause a heart attack?

The answer is...yes, if you’re not accustomed to aerobic activity.

Interventional cardiologists Shyam Bhakta, MD and M. Najeeb Osman, MD caution that if you get little or no regular exercise, snow shoveling in extreme cold can cause plaque in an artery to rupture, triggering a blood clot which can clog a vessel and lead to a heart attack.

Before you exert yourself in the winter cold again, ask University Hospitals’ experts about heart attack.

Call the Cardiology Department at three locations in Ashtabula County:

• In Conneaut and Rock Creek: 440.563.5221
• In Geneva: 866.994.2328