Here’s when you’re most likely to have a heart attack
Mondays and during the winter, according to recent research published in the American Heart Journal.
A Swedish registry of 156,000 individuals was analyzed in order to determine when incidence rates of myocardial infarction, or heart attacks, were highest.
On weekends and during the summer – particularly, the month of July – were when the lowest amount of heart attacks occurred. Researchers believe the time periods coincide with societal stress levels.
Dr. Nina Rashedi, cardiologist at the Advocate Heart Institute at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill., finds the study to be interesting.
“This suggests the psychosocial demands on behavior that can occur on Mondays – the start of the work week – influence biological systems and may lead to a potential for a heart attack.”
But she points out that the reported association may be too broad.
“We must keep in mind that this is only an observational study and much more research is needed in this field.”
Dr. Rashedi says in the cardiovascular world, there is an awareness that stress may affect behaviors and factors that increase heart disease risk, which she says include high blood pressure, cholesterol level from eating a suboptimal diet, smoking and physical inactivity.
“Managing stress is an excellent idea for your overall health,” she says. Dr. Rashedi offers these tips for dealing with stress:
- Exercise
- Have a positive attitude
- Do not smoke
- Consume a heart-healthy diet
- Maintain a healthy weight
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About the Author
Holly Brenza, health enews contributor, is a public affairs coordinator on the content team at Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. In her free time, Holly enjoys reading, watching the White Sox and Blackhawks, playing with her dog, Bear and running her cats' Instagram account, @strangefurthings.
I notice that you have a female holding her chest. Has she had a heart attack? Many women have different signs. My last attack symptom was pain in my arms. No chest pain…