Study finds Christmas Eve presents highest risk of holiday heart attack

Santa’s not the only silent visitor on Christmas Eve. The holiday also welcomes more heart attacks into homes, a study found.

A Swedish study that tracked heart attacks for over a decade found that the highest risk for holiday-timed cardiac arrest is on Christmas Eve. The data shows that the peak hour for a heart attack is at 10 p.m. The study showed that these increases in risk were often associated with patients older than 75. These individuals tend to have had another pre-existing illness, including diabetes and coronary artery disease. One of the goals from the study was to also find out if holidays and sporting events trigger heart attacks. They found no increase in heart attacks during sporting events. Local Emergency Physician, Dr. Jeff Stieglitz says, ” I don’t think we were aware of this association between heart attacks and the holidays before and we really don’t know much about what participates a heart attack. We do know what the risk factors are, such as old age, diabetes and other types of diseases that prone to make a heart attack.” Call 911 for immediate help if you or someone else experiences heart attack related symptoms.