Increased deaths from heart attacks during Christmas week, how to maintain heart health

HOUSTON - As the holiday season unfolds, the American Heart Association issues a crucial warning: more people die from heart attacks during the week of Christmas than at any other time of the year. We spoke with Dr. Khaled Khalaf, an interventional cardiologist at Vital Heart & Vein, to discuss how to protect yourself and maintain heart health not only during this critical week but throughout the year.

This is historically a dangerous week for Americans! "It's well known since the 1970s that not only does mortality increase during the winter, but specifically around Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day, you see this holiday spike, an increase in mortality across the board, not just cardiac, but non-cardiac, too," he explains.

Dr. Khalaf suggests that behavioral changes during the busy holiday season may contribute to this increase. "During the holidays, people aren't eating right. They're not exercising properly, too much alcohol and smoking," he says.

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To combat these risks, Dr. Khalaf emphasizes the importance of exercise. "Diet and exercise and out of those two, I actually push the exercise part more than a diet. Staying physically active is very important," Dr. Khalaf stresses, noting that muscle mass is closely linked to longevity. That's why he highly suggests everyone consider resistance training throughout your entire life.

He also advises monitoring key health indicators. "Elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and elevated blood sugar. Now the beauty of those three is that they're all technically reversible with a healthy lifestyle, diet, and exercise," Dr. Khalaf notes.

Stress management is another critical factor. "Not just emotional stress but also physical stress, too, stress, period. In terms of limiting your stress intake level, it's important, especially in today's world, because I feel like stress is definitely on the rise and mental health is a big issue in this country  right now," he expresses.

Dr. Khalaf also warns about the dangers of alcohol consumption during the holidays.

"Alcohol in particular is more linked to what we call the holiday Heart Syndrome. So, shifting from heart attack, think more in the electrical realm, something like atrial fibrillation, AFib, is the most common arrhythmia that exists. It's where the top chambers of the heart and the bottom chambers of the heart are not on the same page," Dr. Khalaf states. "It increases your risk of heart failure, but also stroke, which is very important. Alcohol consumption, not only through its effects on the heart with metabolism, but also with electrolyte abnormalities as well as dehydration, that can increase your risk of atrial fibrillation, and we see that around the holiday time."

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Finally, he cautions that holiday travel and the business of the season can lead people to ignore symptoms. "Please don't do that," Dr. Khalaf urges.

It's important to recognize the warning signs of a heart attack, which may not always involve severe chest pain. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, sweating, pain in the arms or shoulders, or a feeling of doom. If you experience any of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately.

For more information on heart health and preventative tips, visit Dr. Khalaf's website at www.vitalheartandvein.com.