Shoveling snow is also strenuous on the heart. According to the American Heart Association, shoveling involves mostly arm work, which is more demanding on the heart than leg work.

"If you load a shovel (2-plus pounds) with 10 pounds of snow every 5 seconds, you move a load of over 140 pounds per minute," a project pamphlet says. "In 15 minutes’ time, you will have moved a ...

However, the strain of heavy snow shoveling may be as or even more demanding on the heart than taking a treadmill stress test, according to research we’ve conducted,” said Franklin, who is ...