The first real snowfall of the year looks like a chore. Grab the shovel, clear the driveway, get on with your day.
But for a lot of people over 55, that shovel can be one of the riskiest things they’ll pick up all winter.
A 2011 study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, found that U.S. emergency rooms treated about 11,500 people a year for shoveling-related injuries and emergencies from 1990 through 2006.
Most involved strained muscles, sore backs and falls. Heart problems made up only about 7% of the cases. Yet they accounted for every single one of the 1,647 deaths in the study — nearly 100 a year.
And age mattered. According to Nationwide Children’s, shovelers 55 and older were more than four times as likely as younger ones to have cardiac symptoms. Among those older shovelers, men were twice as likely as women to have them.
Why is moving snow so hard on the heart? The American Heart Association points to a perfect storm. It’s mostly arm work, which taxes the heart more than leg work.
People tend to hold their breath while straining, which drives up heart rate and blood pressure. And cold air narrows blood vessels.
Barry Franklin, a professor at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and lead author of a 2020 AHA scientific statement on exercise and heart risk, found that just two minutes of shoveling pushed participants’ heart rates past 85% of their maximum.
He says heavy shoveling may tax the heart as much as a treadmill stress test, or more, according to the AHA.
The difference? A stress test happens in a clinic, with a doctor watching. Your driveway doesn’t come with a cardiologist.
I’m not a doctor, and nothing here replaces one. But the guidance from the AHA and the researchers who study this is clear and consistent. Here are six rules worth following before the next storm.
1. Find out whether you should be shoveling at all
This is the rule people skip, and it’s the one that matters most.
The AHA says your risk is higher if you live a sedentary life, carry extra weight, smoke now or used to, or have diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. The same goes if you’ve had a heart attack or stroke.
If you’ve had bypass surgery or a coronary angioplasty, the advice is blunt. Dr. Keith Churchwell, then the AHA’s volunteer president, said in a January 2025 warning that people in these groups “simply should not be shoveling snow.”
Not sure where you stand? Ask your doctor first, the Nationwide Children’s researchers advise — particularly if you’re not someone who works out on a regular basis.
An AHA affiliate suggests making that appointment before the first expected snowfall, not after you’re already winded.
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And if you’re in a higher-risk group, the AHA’s advice is simple: Have someone else move the snow. A neighbor’s teenager, a hired service, a relative who owes you a favor. Your pride isn’t worth a trip to the ER.
2. Don’t go straight from the table — or the bar — to the driveway
Here’s one most people never think about.
An American Heart Association affiliate has advised against drinking alcohol before shoveling or immediately after. Same for a heavy meal: Don’t eat one right before you head out or soon after you come back in.
So the big holiday breakfast and the Irish coffee? Save them for after the driveway’s clear and you’ve had time to cool down.
3. Start slow, and take a lot of breaks
Snow doesn’t care if you’re in a hurry. That’s exactly when people get into trouble.
The AHA says to ease into it and keep a steady, unhurried pace. The Nationwide Children’s researchers say the same thing: Take frequent breaks to rest.
Think of it like this: If you wouldn’t sprint a mile cold, don’t attack a foot of wet snow cold either. Clear a section, stop, breathe, go inside and warm up if you need to. The driveway will still be there in 10 minutes.
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4. Push the snow instead of lifting it
Lifting and throwing is the hardest way to move snow. It’s also the motion that makes you hold your breath.
The AHA recommends pushing or sweeping snow out of the way rather than heaving it, since that takes a bit less effort. If you do have to lift, an AHA affiliate says it’s safer to move smaller amounts more often than to wrestle a few giant shovelfuls.
A smaller shovel helps, because it physically won’t let you overload it.
What about a snow blower? The AHA says to use one if you’re able. Just don’t treat it as a free pass: The AHA notes that even running a snow blower can send your heart rate and blood pressure up fast.
5. Dress for the cold, because the cold is part of the problem
This isn’t just about comfort. Cold air causes blood vessels throughout the body to constrict, which the AHA says can disproportionately raise blood pressure.
The group’s advice: Cover your mouth and nose, wear layers, and put on a hat and gloves.
Watch the wind, too. Wind makes it feel colder than the thermometer says, and the AHA says to be extra careful when it’s blowing.
6. Know the warning signs, and don’t wait to call 911
If you feel chest pain or pressure, lightheadedness, heart palpitations or an irregular heartbeat while shoveling, the AHA says to stop immediately. Call 911 if the symptoms don’t ease shortly after you stop.
Know the broader heart attack signs, too. The AHA lists:
- Chest discomfort that lasts more than a few minutes or comes and goes — pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain
- Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach
- Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort
- A cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness
The AHA’s heart attack page puts it plainly: Call 911 if you have any of these warning signs. Don’t drive yourself, and don’t let anyone talk you into “waiting to see.”
Emergency crews can start treating you the moment they reach you — which, an AHA affiliate says, can save as much as an hour compared with a car ride to the ER.
If you see someone collapse while shoveling, call for help. If the person is unresponsive and has no pulse, the AHA says to start Hands-Only CPR.
Why men should pay extra attention
There’s one more piece of evidence worth knowing. A 2017 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal looked at more than 128,000 heart attack hospitalizations and 68,000 heart attack deaths in Quebec over three decades of winters.
The researchers found that men’s risk of a heart attack went up the day after a snowfall. Women’s didn’t. About 8 inches of snow was linked to 16% higher odds of a man being hospitalized, and the authors suspected shoveling was the main reason.
That study was observational, so it can’t prove shoveling caused those heart attacks. But it fits with what the heart research above has found.
Bottom line
Moving snow is a workout, and for many people over 55 it’s a far harder one than they realize. The research doesn’t say never pick up a shovel. It says know your risk, go slow, push instead of lift, bundle up, and treat chest pain as an emergency.
If you’re in a higher-risk group, hand the job off. And while you’re thinking about your heart, it’s worth knowing the life changes that can spike your heart attack risk.
No driveway is worth dying for. Let it wait, or let someone else do it.
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