Shocking report- Risk of heart attack increases during Christmas holiday

On the eve of Christmas, all the children around the corner are impatiently waiting for the Santa who brings along with him happiness and gifts. But a shocking report published in the BMJ has revealed that too much-heightened emotions including Christmas events may lead to heart attack.

The study highlighted the risk of having a heart attack is 37 percent higher on Christmas Eve, peaking at 10 p.m.

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The researchers tracked the occurrence of heart attacks during holiday periods throughout the year, during major sporting events such as the Olympic Games and soccer's World Cup, as well as on random days of the week. The control period was 2 weeks before and after holidays and 1 year before and after tournaments. The primary outcome of interest was the daily count of MI.

The study showed that Swedes had suffered more than 283,000 heart attacks between 1998 and 2013 during the Christmas season. The overall risk for MI increased by 15% during the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Compared with other holidays, the risk for MI was higher on Christmas Eve.

This increased risk was also seen during the Midsummer holiday. The risk for MI was not increased during the Easter holiday and sports events. There was a trend for an increased risk for MI in men during the Summer Olympics. The analysis also found that the risk for MI during the year peaked on Mondays and in the early morning except on Christmas Eve, when it peaked in the evening

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"Our results showed a consistently higher risk of myocardial infarction mainly due to higher rates of NSTEMI and a greater number of patients who were elderly, had diabetes, a history of coronary artery disease, or were already taking other medication. This indicates that the "vulnerable patient," who may have risk factors such as blood vulnerable to thrombosis and myocardium vulnerable to arrhythmias in addition to vulnerable plaques, may be more prone to these precipitators of disease, "write the authors.

The study concluded that Christmas and Midsummer holidays were associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction, particularly in older and sicker patients, suggesting a role of external triggers in vulnerable individuals.

For full information log on to https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4811