Overindulgence can lead to 'holiday heart'
Emergency room doctors and cardiologists are on the lookout these days not for Santa Claus, but for “holiday heart,” an irregular heartbeat pattern that can lead to complications.
A dangerous combination of too much alcohol, loads of rich food and holiday stress can bring on an irregular heartbeat that can mean a stroke, congestive heart failure or a heart attack.
Studies have shown that people are more likely to experience heart-related health issues during the holidays, with more heart attacks reported on Dec. 25, followed by Dec. 26 and Jan. 1, than at any other time of year.
A study of 53 million death certificates found that there were 5 percent more heart-related deaths during the holidays than during the rest of the year.
This is no Christmas fable but a fact to Dr. David Buchanan, a cardiologist at Butler Memorial Hospital.
Buchanan said, “It's fairly well described. Classically, they call it 'holiday heart,' which originally described an arrhythmia that occurred mostly with alcohol intake.”
“The classic arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, which is a fast, irregular heartbeat that originates in the upper chambers of the heart,” he said. “It's basically the way alcohol is metabolized in the body that can affect the heart.”
“Heart problems can be related to excessive, chronic drinking, but in this case it relates to binge drinking, the rapid imbibing of more alcohol than they are used to in larger quantities than they are used to,” he said.
Dr. David Rottinghaus, emergency room director at Butler Memorial Hospital, agreed this can be a dangerous time of year.
Rottinghaus said, “We see more heart attacks and strokes over the holidays for all those reasons; stress is not the least of them.”
“There's always an uptick starting around Thanksgiving and ending in the new year,” he said.
Rottinghaus said an abnormal heart rhythm in the top part of the organ is “classically associated with heavy alcohol bingeing in a short period of time, like a weekend in Las Vegas with all-inclusive drinks.”
He added for people with normal hearts, a little holiday overindulgence may lead to an irregular heartbeat, but things quickly return to normal.
The same can't be said for those with an underlying or undetected heart condition.
To make sure your next holiday party doesn't turn out to be your last one, both Buchanan and Rottinghaus suggest throttling back on both alcohol and food intake.
Rottinghaus said, “The best thing is moderation, reasonable amounts of alcohol.”
And maybe downsize the food portions too, he added.
Those holiday hams and other seasonal delicacies can be high in salt, which can lead to higher blood pressure and fluid retention, Rottinghaus said.
“What I see in my office and in the outpatient setting, I always stress that people should monitor their salt intake, how much and what fluids they are drinking, as well as staying active,” he said.
Inactivity in the winter months and overeating are a recipe for cardiac events, he said.
“Try not to hibernate over the winter months and stay active, even if it is just walking in the mall,” Rottinghaus said.
