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Fans’ Risk of Heart Attack Higher During Games
February 03, 2008 11:38 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
As fans prepare for Super Bowl XLII, a new study cautions against getting overly excited during the game.
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Researchers in Germany recently published a study finding that sports fans are 2.66 times more likely to have a heart attack during an important game than they are at other times.
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Dr. Gerhard Steinbeck, lead cardiologist for Maximilian University in Munich, and his team monitored Munich-area emergency rooms for coronary incidents.
They found that on days when the German team was playing, the number of coronary events more than doubled. Over half of the patients who experienced heart problems on game days had some prior heart disease.
"The national team [was] playing, putting the whole nation in stress," Dr. Steinbeck said.
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Dr. Gerhard Steinbeck, lead cardiologist for Maximilian University in Munich, and his team monitored Munich-area emergency rooms for coronary incidents.
They found that on days when the German team was playing, the number of coronary events more than doubled. Over half of the patients who experienced heart problems on game days had some prior heart disease.
"The national team [was] playing, putting the whole nation in stress," Dr. Steinbeck said.
Headline Links: A fan’s risk
Dr. Gerhard Steinbeck explains that people are more at risk of a heart attack while watching a sports game regardless of the outcome: "so it's not winning or losing. It's just the stress produced by both these games.”
Source: NPR
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, cardiologists in Munich, Germany, studied 4,279 patients and found that on the days the German team played “the incidence of cardiac emergencies was 2.66 times that during the control period.”
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
Background: The physical and psychological impacts of fandom
Dr. Daniel L. Wann of Murray State University in Kentucky asserts that being a fan can help a person’s psychological health by increasing self-esteem and energy while decreasing fatigue.
Source: The Web site of New York University's Medical School
While watching sports games, fans’ heart rates may increase and their breathing could become shallow. Len Zaichkowsky, head of the sport psychology program at Boston University, charted one fan’s heart rate at 180 during a hockey game.
Source: The Boston Globe
Dr. Christian End from the University of Missouri at Rolla explains why some fans run out onto the field or brawl with umpires: "In some instances, highly identified fans may … view it as a means of helping their team.”
Source: Psychology Today
Related Links: ‘Psychologists Tackle Fandom’ and Vinny Testaverde's father banned from his games
In an October 2007 article, findingDulcinea examined the psychology of fandom, the historical connection between ancient tribal life and today’s sports fans, and how men and women watch sports differently.
Source: finding Dulcinea
In 1998, the Palm Beach Post spoke with the father of former Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde, Al Testaverde. Al was banned from watching Vinny's games by his doctor because he was at high risk for a heart attack due to heart problems. "I work myself up just listening to the national anthem" Al Testaverde said, "It's too much for me. If I watch a game, it could kill me."
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