Snowstorms and strokes - strange association

The people in my town, Columbia, Missouri, can thank me for the lack of snow lately. A couple of years ago on Black Friday, I bought a snow blower online, from my recliner. That's my kind of Black Friday shopping.

But it's been mostly idle since - not that much snow. Which is fine. I'm not a fan.

So how does this tie in with strokes? It seems that snowstorms may bring blizzards health troubles, including strokes:

Hospital admissions for heart-related ailments -- heart attack, chest pain and stroke -- were 23 percent higher two days after a storm.

The study authors believe their analysis is the first to examine hospital admissions over the course of several days after low, moderate and high snowfalls.

Cardiologist Dr. Ellen Keeley, who wasn't involved in the study, said the results are consistent with other smaller, single-center studies.

It "highlights the importance of the real association between snowstorms and cardiac events," Keeley said. She's an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

Now, association doesn't mean causation (that is, this doesn't prove that snow causes strokes). And there's always the snow-shoveling exertion linked to heart problems. Still, so far this has been a mild winter where I live, which, as mentioned, is fine.

(Photo: From a much snowier winter)