At Southlake Health in Newmarket, the hospital says medical staff treated 34 patients who had heart attacks while shovelling snow during last week’s snowstorms.

According to Southlake Health, the staff treated patients between February 12 to 20 who exhibited symptoms of a heart attack after spending time outdoors shovelling their driveways.

“I don’t remember having that volume that quickly. This is unprecedented, and it was non-stop,” said Dr. Christopher Overgaard, Chief of the Department of Cardiac Health at Southlake Health.

Overgaard says the patients ranged in age, with some in their 40s, 50s and 60s, all from York Region.

“They exert themselves very intensely, and they are really not used to it; it’s kind of like running up a hill when you haven’t done that at all, so the amount of stress on your heart is extreme; it can cause your blood pressure to go up really quickly, and it can cause your body to need a lot of oxygen in a hurry, and that causes your heart rate to rise very quickly,” Overgaard added.

February is Heart Month in Canada, a time to raise awareness about the importance of cardiovascular health and during this period, the Heart and Stroke Foundation says that cases of cardiac arrest increase by 10 per cent in the winter months.

They say that knowing the symptoms can be lifesaving, and symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and pain that can spread down to the arms, jaw, or women’s back and shoulders. 

“The heart is a very sophisticated pump, and it is a muscle, and when the heart struggles, time is muscle. It is so important to seek out prompt care to preserve the integrity of the heart muscle and the way climate change is going, no two winters are equal in Canada, and it’s important for people to remember that, especially when we see unrepresented amounts of snow, that we need to be thinking about our heart health,” said Kelly Van Heugte, Manager of Heart at the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Van Heugte says that it is essential for people to listen to their bodies when shovelling the snow and that individuals should call 911 if they feel symptoms of a heart attack.