Men above 45 with a heart condition, high blood pressure and uncontrolled diabetes or those who smoke or have a family history of cardiac ailments have a score of above 1, which puts them in the risk category, say experts. Increased excitement (caused by a goal from your favourite team) or a spurt in stress level (triggered by a goal scored by the team you hate) is a recipe for heart attack for this group.
But that does not mean you switch off the TV or watch something more tepid, like the India-Afghanistan Test match, say doctors. Just don’t get too psyched up; and, in case you cannot handle a nerve-wracking encounter, take a break to calm your frayed nerves.
“Watching football can be life-threatening,” cardiac surgeon Kunal Sarkar agreed, explaining that excitement could trigger neuro-hormones, which would lead to a spike in heart rate and blood pressure. “The heart has to pump faster to meet this sudden spurt in cardiac activity, which could cause a cardiac arrest. Those with heart ailments or high blood pressure are especially vulnerable. My advice would be to restrain your excitement if you feel you can’t handle the stress,” Sarkar said.
High-profile sporting events like the Fifa World Cup lead to a rise in the number of sudden cardiac arrests. “Unlike cricket or golf, which are relatively passive sports, passions run high in football. There’s hardly any cooling-off period in the middle of a match and those rooting for a team tend to get involved. The sudden flow and ebb of hormones could be dangerous,” he said.
Before you tune in to a high-voltage match, get your basic health parameters screened, advised AMRI Hospital consultant Debashish Saha. “A significantly large number of those who will be watching the World Cup are undiagnosed cardiac patients. It is this section that can be caught unawares. A sudden flow of adrenalin could be harmful for those who have blocked arteries,” Saha said. A cardiac risk score of 1 and above puts you at moderate risk and those with a count of 3 and above fall in the high-risk group. “It is calculated on the extent of your cardiac complications, blood pressure, blood sugar count and genetic propensity. The majority of those with a count between 1 and 3 are not aware that they are at risk,” Saha pointed out.
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Buy Car Insurance on Coverfox in Just 7 minutesCoverfox.comAny excitement can trigger a sudden rise in catacolamin (adrenalin) levels in blood. A sudden adrenalin rush leads to high blood pressure and heart rate since the heart starts pumping faster. “It could be dangerous for the high-risk group as most don’t have regular check-ups,” Saha said. But the “healthy population” — those with normal body-mass index, no blood pressure, diabetes or family history of cardiac ailments and non-smokers — can remain unaffected by heightened stress, experts say.
All is not lost for those with a score of more than 1, though. “Periodic screening can help scale down the modifiable risk factors like blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol and smoking. This can bring down the risk factor and make you less vulnerable to football-triggered stress,” explained Saha.
It was not just watching a game that could raise your stress level, warned senior consultant Arindam Biswas. Even an animated discussion or a sudden argument in the middle of a match could be dangerous for the risk-group, he pointed out. “If you are a passionate football fan, avoid sudden outbursts of emotion like screaming after a goal. And never, never skip your medicines,” he said.
A FIFA World Cup or an IPL could be risky for the faint-hearted but it would not be fair to “blanket label” these events as risky, argued Hrishikesh Kumar, senior consultant at Institute of Neurosciences Kolkata. “Watching late-night matches could be risky, though. Lost sleep can lead to stress, depression and anxiety, which are a perfect recipe for a brain stroke. So check your cholesterol count and make sure that you get enough sleep, even if you have to miss Messi in action,” he advised.
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