How to Have a Healthy Heart Holiday
The American Heart Association indicates that more people die from heart attacks during the last week of December than any other time of year.
While there are various theories to explain why heart attacks are so prevalent over the holiday season, there doesn’t appear to be one conclusive answer but likely a combination of many factors. One factor could be stress. The holiday season is often busier for everyone, putting more pressure on their time and energy. This added stress about organizing all the many activities during the holidays such as planning holiday gatherings, shopping for gifts, meal preparation and managing family dynamics can be stressful. The added stress can increase your blood pressure causing the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout the body with the potential of causing a heart attack.
Another factor could be higher cholesterol levels. The holidays are a time of socialization and parties. These events often lead to overindulgence and the intake of high cholesterol foods, added sugars and increased alcohol consumption. All of which could influence your cholesterol ratings resulting in fatty deposits in your blood vessels. The risk is having these deposits break away and form a clot that could causes a heart attack. Good cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) can help lower the cholesterol ratings through moderate physical activity, but the busy holiday season may reduce the ability to maintain an individual’s typical physical routine and delay their own medical care.
The holiday season is a joyous time of year and one of the best gifts you can give yourself is taking steps to reduce your risk of having a heart attack. While being aware of the signs of a heart attack and taking steps to reduce your risks is important all year long, it is even more critical during the holiday season. Common signs of a heart attack include chest pain, sweating, upper body discomfort, nausea and dizziness. If you experience these symptoms, act quickly to seek medical treatment and dial 911.
Maintaining heart-healthy habits over the holiday season can help minimize your risk of suffering a heart attack. Here are some suggestions by the Heart and Stroke Foundation:
- Eat for balance- Limit the sugary, high fat and high calorie temptations
- Stay active- Regular physical activity helps manage stress
- Hit the snooze button- Stay refreshed by getting eight hours of rest per night
- Sip smart- Be mindful of your drink consumption and limit your alcohol intake
Northern Hearts, a local non-profit charity with a mission to reduce heart disease in Northwestern Ontario, offers several suggestions on ways to reduce your risk of heart disease on their website. www.northernhearts.org. They also offer Healthy Heart Day in Thunder Bay, a day-long event designed to help educate and support individuals concerned about heart health. Healthy Heart Day will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at the Thunder Bay 55+ Centre on River Street. If interested, follow Northern Hearts on their Facebook page for updates and registration information regarding the event. https://www.facebook.com/NorthernHeartsThunderBay/
Northern Hearts would like to encourage everyone to have a heart-healthy holiday season and wish to thank all the individuals and organizations that supported their Walk with Doc, Talk with Doc and Healthy Heart Day events in 2024. These events rely on the generous support of individuals and organizations to offer programming free of charge to all the participants and Northern Hearts wishes to thank them for their generosity over 2024.
On behalf of Northern Hearts, we wish everyone a heart-healthy holiday season.
Submitted by: Bryan MacKay, Vice-Chair, Northern Hearts