|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The end of the year is often a time of festivities and cheer, but it also can land people in the hospital with an illness popularly known as holiday heart syndrome.
Holiday heart syndrome happens when otherwise healthy individuals develop an irregular heart rhythm from excessive alcohol consumption during the holiday season.
“It’s kind of surprising for people, because usually it’s pretty healthy people who have really just sort of gone off the deep end in terms of drinking way more than they normally do,” said Dr. Frederick St. Goar, medical director of the Norma Melchor Heart and Vascular Institute at El Camino Health.
People experiencing holiday heart syndrome may feel sudden heart palpitations, more tired than usual or have difficulty breathing. Low blood pressure may also cause feelings of light-headedness or dizziness, St. Goar said.
The symptoms can last for 15 to 20 minutes and can put people in the hospital if persistent. But it’s not necessarily a sign of heart disease. “It’s just an inappropriate electrical response to the stress of overdoing alcohol,” St. Goar said.
Lack of sleep, stress and overeating contribute to holiday heart syndrome as well, although binge drinking is what really pushes people over the edge. It often afflicts younger people too, St. Goar said.
St. Goar offered some tips about how to deal with holiday heart syndrome. Sitting down helps with low blood pressure, and staying calm is important, he said. And if symptoms persist, then it’s a good idea to go to urgent care to get it checked out.
St. Goar also had some recommendations on how to avoid holiday heart syndrome altogether.
“If you’re going to drink, don’t load yourself up with alcohol in one short period of time. Do it over a period of time. And if you start to feel the effects of alcohol, listen to that and don’t persevere,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s moderation and listening to signs and symptoms of your body and not pushing through it.”
