Viewing Super Bowl May Increase Heart Attack Risk: New Study
Any serious football fan will tell you, the excitement of Super Bowl Sunday can make your heart skip a beat. New cardiovascular research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests it could be true.
During the 2006 Fédération Internationale de FootballAssociation (FIFA) World Cup, emergency physicians examined the relationship between the emotional stress of viewing a major athletic event and the incidence of cardiovascular events among fans.
Emergency doctors assessed cardiovascular patients in the greater Munich area during World Cup game times, and compared the results to those obtained during three similar-length control periods when games were not played. In all, more than 4,000 acute cardiovascular patients were evaluated as part of the study. On those days when the German team played Cup games, research data indicates that the rate of cardiovascular emergency was generally 2.66 times higher than normal. Among men alone, the incidence of heart emergency was much higher -- a full 3.26 times higher than ordinary. Though the research focuses on major soccer games in Germany, some transferability of the results to American football fans is possible.
Authors of the study pin most of the risk of increased cardiac events on the emotional stress of a big game, but they also note that junk food, overeating, a lack of sleep, consuming alcohol and smoking tobacco are contributing game time risk factors.
To reduce your own risk of suffering a heart attack, the American Academy of Family Physicians recommends the following:
Previously on the DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog, we have posted articles related to:
- Why cardiovascular events increase in winter, and what you can do to protect yourself
- A study demonstrating that most hospital phone operators don't recognize stroke symptoms, and often mis-route emergency calls
- A warning to heart patients taking asprin: Don't take ibuprofen, too
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