Patterns of Deadly Heart Attacks Increase
Significantly During the Winter Holidays

By S.A. Nickerson From Newsmax

Stockings are hung by the chimney with care. Colorfully wrapped presents lie beneath a beautiful Christmas tree. Who doesn’t love to give and receive gifts during the holiday season?

Unfortunately, there is one holiday gift that keeps on giving — yet no one wants it. Known as the “Christmas coronary,” it’s a well-documented pattern of deadly heart attacks increasing around the winter holidays.

And particularly since heart disease is already the leading killer of Americans today, these disturbing heart-attack spikes around Christmas and New Year’s Day have intrigued researchers.

Unfortunately, about 25% of all heart attacks happen “silently,” without clear or obvious symptoms. In fact, four sinister symptoms may be so mild or vague as to seem unrelated to the heart at all.

These subtle signs are one focus of a recent free video presentation by heart disease expert Dr. Chauncey Crandall: Silent Heart Attacks: A Special Newsmax Heart Health Report. This video helps the public discover these silent warning signs of impending heart attack — before it becomes too late to survive the damage.

Because heart disease is so prevalent, it’s important to minimize risk factors. When it comes to those holiday heart attacks, researchers first thought winter weather was the key factor responsible.

For example, physical exertion such as snow shoveling can trigger a heart attack. Cold temperatures can constrict blood vessels and raise blood pressure, increasing strain on the heart.

But cold weather doesn’t explain the whole picture, when research indicates heart attacks also spike during the holidays in places with mild climates such as Los Angeles.

Other proposed mechanisms for the holiday heart attack include overindulgence in fatty foods and alcohol, increased emotional stress, delay in seeking medical attention, and even financial pressures.

And while the holidays are a vulnerable time for heart disease to become obvious, this is a subject for year-round concern.

“Most adults, especially those entering middle age, are basically sitting ducks when it comes to heart disease,” Dr. Crandall warns. “That’s unfortunate, because heart disease is totally unnecessary. With the proper knowledge, and a few simple steps, it can be prevented, reversed, even cured.”

Dr. Crandall, chief of the cardiac transplant program at the world-renowned Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Florida, practices on the front lines of modern cardiology.

Editor’s Note: For a limited time, Newsmax Health is making Silent Heart Attacks: A Special Newsmax Heart Health Report available at no charge. Click the above link to see the video and minimize your risk of that holiday heart attack.