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SALT LAKE CITY — Avid sports fans watching this weekend's Super Bowl should beware of what heart doctors call the "perfect storm."
While not trying to dampen enthusiasm for the game, University of Utah cardio-thoracic surgeon Amit Patel says the Super Bowl environment might aggravate symptoms in heart patients.
"You're sitting on a couch," he says. "You're sedentary and eating a lot, and possibly drinking alcohol in a chronically stressed state for up to three to four hours."
You're sitting on a couch. You're sedentary and eating a lot, and possibly drinking alcohol in a chronically stressed state for up to three to four hours.
–Dr. Amit Patel
At least two studies show heart attacks among males almost double during a Super Bowl, and women are not far behind. The risk appears to be very specific to high risk groups, those with heart disease, and especially in those cities identified with teams that are playing.
And it's not just during the game. The emotional fallout lingers in the days that follow.
According to Patel, "You could still have a major cardiac event up to two weeks after the game and it's not only heart attacks, people develop irregular heartbeats and they might actually get such a bad rhythm that their heart actually stops."
Stress over a prolonged game or bad calls by the refs produce high adrenaline and other hormones that squeeze down on blood vessels.
Also, the food!
The Super Bowl is second only to Thanksgiving for the most consumed fatty foods in one day.
Along with self made stress, "your heart rate is very fast. You may be eating fatty foods which prevents blood vessels from dilating out as a response. And if you add alcohol to the mix, all together now that's the perfect storm."
Patel suggests those with heart disease should remember to take their heart medications on game day and to stay hydrated. It's also a good idea, he says, to walk around during commercials to keep blood flowing in the legs.
"It's not that everyone should get paranoid and rush to see a doctor today or tomorrow," he adds. "But if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a fast heart rate, and if you feel dizzy now and then, those are early signs that you may be at an increased risk for heart disease and it might be wise to practice a little preventive medicine during the game."
Since we all know this is a power Super Bowl and that it's a battle between old grid iron teams that everyone has loved for years, heart patients should avoid internalizing what is sure to be a brutal game.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com
