A group of Manitoba doctors have found data that suggest people living in Winnipeg could be at a higher risk of experiencing defibrillator shocks compared to those living in warmer cities.

"Defibrillator shocks have shown to be more common at colder temperatures, but no one had looked at below 0 degrees," said Doctor Justin Cloutier, one of the medical professionals conducting the study.

The study measured those who have implantable defibrillators – devices that are planted under the skin that help regulate a patient’s heart beat.

These devices provide a painful, but lifesaving, shock when a patient experiences a dangerous and unstable heart rhythm.

"We looked at weather data from Environment Canada and we correlated that with our clinic data on who is coming to the clinic and having shocks in their defibrillator,” said Cloutier.  “We found that shocks were more common with extremely cold temperatures."

The study, conducted in Winnipeg, showed when the daily high is less than -10 degrees Celsius the chance of a patient receiving a shock increased by 26 per cent.

When the temperature sits between -10 and 10 degrees Celsius, shocks are 9 per cent more common than when the temperature is above 10 degrees.

Cloutier explained extreme cold weather could also be affecting the heart pattern of those without defibrillators.

He said it’s not yet known why the colder weather is leading to the increase in shocks.