A New Jersey man died Sunday after collapsing from an apparent medical episode while shoveling snow during a storm that lashed the region.
The incident occurred around 12:45 p.m. in Verona when a 67-year-old man was found on his back in the snow with a shovel in his hand, police said. Parts of Essex County received up to a foot of snow on Sunday, according to Northjersey.com. Verona is about 24 miles west of Manhattan, which received about 10 inches of snow.
Verona Police Chief Christopher Kiernan said CPR was done, but the man was later pronounced dead at Mountainside Hospital in Montclair. His identity was not released.
About 100 people die each year in the U.S. from medical emergencies while shoveling snow, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of those deaths are from heart attacks.
The American Heart Association says shovelers should work slowly so as to not overexert themselves, dress warmly with hat and gloves, push rather than lift or throw snow and use a snow blower or get someone else to shovel if they have heart disease or elevated risks factors for heart disease.
