A Nanaimo cardiologist says he always sees more patients in emergency suffering from some sort of cardiac incident when it snows and the shovels come out.
Dr. Arun Natarajin says shoveling snow raises blood pressure, the heart works harder and demands more oxygen and, at the same time, the cold weather restricts arteries….
Natarajin says people should listen to their body, don’t push too hard, and take frequent breaks.
He says, adding to the problem, emergency vehicles are often already stretched responding to incidents during snow events and getting help when you need it can be challenging.
