The stress of watching football matches can bring on a heart attack, according to researchers in Germany. On days when the national team played in the 2006 world cup there were 2.66 times more cardiac emergencies in Munich.
“Viewing a stressful soccer match more than doubles the risk of an acute cardiovascular event. In view of this excess risk, particularly in men with known coronary heart disease, preventive measures are urgently needed,” say Ute Wilbert-Lampen and colleagues in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Thankfully for sports fans ‘preventive measures’ don’t seem to include banning unhealthy people from watching sport. Instead Wilbert-Lampen wants consideration given to dishing out beta-blockers, aspirin and other drugs to fans with pre-existing heart problems and maybe giving “behaviour therapy for coping with stress”.
Although lots of behaviour associated with watching sporting events might also contribute to heart problems – drinking and junk food being de rigueur among some sports fans – the researchers found the highest number of heart problems occurred within two hours of kick off. “This makes us sure that indeed the stress and tension caused by the games probably also caused these emergencies,” Steinbeck says (LA Times).
Although this study was on what American readers will know as soccer, this hasn’t stopped the US press deciding that people watching the Super Bowl this weekend better watch out for more than touchdowns. “The excitement of watching the upcoming Super Bowl could put some individuals at risk of an acute heart problem including heart attack, death or an irregular heart rhythm,” says Lori Mosca, cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital told ABC, a theme continued by others, eg AP, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe.
ABC also has this killjoy piece of advice from Gordon Tomaselli, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore: “My suggestion for patients with severe cardiac disease that are likely to be emotionally invested in the game is not to watch or do so calmly, do not drink, not to violate any dietary restrictions and do not bet on the games.”
Odds of that happening? About the same as the Giants winning on Sunday.
Images: Getty