FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WBAY) - While the winter can bring beautiful blankets of snow, it can also hold some real health risks.

Experts are warning that shoveling heavy snow can significantly increase your chance of a heart attack.

Shoveling is like a “peak exercise” stress test, putting major strain on your heart. This is especially true for those not used to regular exercise.

The cold weather makes it worse, constricting arteries and raising blood pressure.

“It is a big cardiac push when you shovel snow, so heart rates go up, pressure goes up, it’s a lot of exertion of the upper body. It’s not just like walking because you’re using your upper body which affects the heart quite a bit,” said Dr. Jocko Zifferblatt, an emergency medicine physician at ThedaCare Medical Center in Fond du Lac.

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