Heart attacks, illness more common around winter holidays. These WA cardiologists explain why
On Wednesday night, Vinay Malhotra was on a call with a patient at an emergency room in Tacoma. The doctor started to see the signs.
The patient, who had brought their loved one to the health care facility because they had COVID, started experiencing chest discomfort. They were stressed out, and they were wearing only a fleece jacket while waiting in the frigid emergency area. These are some predisposing factors to heart attacks.
Though the holiday season is typically a celebratory time of year, extreme weather conditions and shifting bodily functions negatively contribute to heart health, posing a higher risk to heart-related illnesses and heart attacks during the final months of the year.
In early December, the American Heart Association released a report stating that more people die of heart attacks between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 than any other time of the year.
Higher heart attack and illness risk is a nationwide trend, according to Dr. Gopi Dandamudi, a cardiologist with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma.
And since the pandemic has impacted health care systems, the issue has worsened, adds Malhotra, a cardiologist with MultiCare who practices at Pulse Heart Institute Cardiology Services, also in Tacoma.
Patients have regularly pushed off seeking care because they don’t want to catch an illness while out in public or they don’t want to further compound overloaded health care facilities. Worse still, when people have come in for treatment in recent years, their symptoms have been worse compared to previous ones, and more younger patients are exhibiting troubling signs, Malhotra says.
The holiday season introduces several factors that add up to create a perfect storm of predisposing factors to heart attack risk. The two cardiologists lay out who is most prone to these health risks, how the holiday season increases such risks and tips you can use to minimize heart strain.
Symptoms and at-risk groups
Before unpacking the reasons why the holiday season poses threats to heart health, it’s pertinent to know who is more predisposed to them and the symptoms to look for.
As Malhotra explained, he has been seeing younger patients in recent years and regularly treats people from 30 to 40 years old. In the past, he would have anticipated to see people a decade older than he normally would now.
People who are more prone to heart-related risk are those with diabetes, high cholesterol, a family history of heart conditions, who smoke or are obese. In addition, older people are at higher danger compared to younger people.
Whether you fall into any of these groups or not, it’s important that everyone understands the symptoms of a heart attack. Typical signs include shortness of breath, rapid rise in heart pressure, jaw pain and pain down the left arm.
Another ailment to keep on your radar is heart failure, which is also more common during the holiday season. Symptoms to look out for include shortness of breath, sudden weight gain as well as swelling in the face, hands or feet, Dandamudi says.
How holidays impact our health
Typically, heightened risk for heart-related issues occurs around mid-November to late January. The reason behind this is because changes in weather patterns and disruptions in people’s routine schedules add up and negatively affect one’s overall health.
One health-related factor that may not be immediately obvious is how the human body responds to cold temperatures. The doctors say that cold weather causes the body’s arteries to constrict, which increases blood pressure and thus risk of a heart attack.
In addition, as daylight hours decrease and snow blankets the ground, people tend to spend less time outside. This could mean people cut back on their exercise schedule, which is especially harmful around the holidays when get-togethers with friends and family tend to offer unhealthy foods and alcoholic beverages. Added together, decreased physical activity and poor eating behavior can spell trouble for those who have to shovel snow, a task that can spike one’s heart rate and put strain on the vital organ.
“It’s pretty strenuous to be digging, you know, 17 inches of snow that you don’t do routinely,” Dandamudi says. “So anything that kind of subtly adds that stress level to your body, whether it be emotional stress, physical stress, all that can actually precipitate these kinds of things – heart attacks, heart failure, arrhythmias, any of those kinds of illnesses.”
Another component to consider concerning personal health is emotional stress levels. Malhotra and Dandamudi acknowledge that while many look forward to the holiday season, the time of year often presents moments of heightened stress, which can cause poor sleep, under- or over-eating and heightened blood pressure. Family gatherings also present an opportunity for people to remember loved ones who died earlier in the year.
“The rest of the year, you didn’t have time to think about your loved one,” Malhotra says. “Now you have the time because you have a family gathering. You have decorations that you’re doing ... you’re trying to do things that you would normally do as a tradition. And that’s when you start to remember.”
Beyond remembering family loss, people’s travel schedules might not unfold as intended. Some might get into an argument with a family member. Holiday shopping and gift wrapping can be time-consuming. These are some, and perhaps familiar, examples of the less-than-merry moments that people endure in the weeks preceding New Year’s.
How to minimize risk
Malhotra and Dandamudi offer similar tips to minimizing your risk for heart-related issues throughout the holiday season and into the New Year:
Know the common signs of heart attacks, which include rapid rise in heart rate, shortness of breath, chest pains and pain down the left arm. Women can experience additional symptoms such as sweating, palpitations and nausea.
Don’t push through symptoms. Seek care, even if you are with family and don’t want to leave them.
Seek attention earlier on. Know your options for speaking with a medical provider. For instance, if you feel uneasy about going to a medical facility in person, see if you can set up a virtual appointment.
If you’re traveling, don’t forget to take your medications.
Take care of your body with clean eating and regular exercise. If a holiday party offers unhealthy food selections, then eat in moderation. Drink plenty of water, and try to reduce your body’s salt levels.
For those who have to clear snow off the ground: When shoveling, don’t pick up and throw snow. Push it instead. Start shoveling earlier on so you won’t have to clear ice or several inches of snow at once. Know your limits and take breaks. If you have money to spare, consider buying a snowblower to lessen the strain on your body.
This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Heart attacks, illness more common around winter holidays. These WA cardiologists explain why."