Highly charged sports may provoke heart attacks, says top cardiologist

Dr Klaus Kallmayer, who heads up both German Heart Centre Bremen and the department of cardiology at City Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City, explained studies have shown cardiovascular incidents increase during sporting events as spectators get caught up in the moment.

During the 2006 World Cup, Germany reported nearly three times more heart attacks and other heart problems than usual figures, with the incidents involving men increasing by almost double that of women.

Dr Kallmayer said:

'With the Olympic Games kicking off on August 8, sports enthusiasts, who prefer watching the proceedings from the sofa rather than engaging in physical activity themselves, should be aware that statistically the comfort of their living room is no safer than actually competing. The study by the University of Munich, Germany has proven that watching a stressful sports game involving the national team can more than double the risk of an acute cardiovascular event. And the UAE's poor cardiovascular record means spectators here can be even more at risk. Although it was previously known that watching sports events can have some impact, the magnitude of the effect was quite surprising. Of prime importance for triggering a stress-induced event is not the outcome of the event, such as a win or a loss, but rather the intense strain and excitement experienced during the viewing of a dramatic event.'

During the study, emergency physicians evaluated clinical end points heart attacks before, during, and after the entire soccer tournament and compared these events with control periods. The control periods were carefully chosen to exclude other triggers for stresses. They initially chose the same period as the World Cup, but one year earlier, and then they realised the temperatures in that year had not been as high as in 2006, so they added in 2003, another hot year. They also controlled other environmental factors such as air pollution.

Dr Kallmayer added: 'The reason why men seem to be disproportionately affected may well be explained by sex-specific differences or by differences in the degree of interest in particularly soccer matches.

'In addition, the intensity of the reaction depended on how exciting the match was. They also found that triggering of events was more common in patients with known coronary artery disease that in those without it.

'We have to conclude that it's important for both doctors and patients to understand that major sporting events such as the Olympics can trigger heart attacks and rhythm disturbances.'

The study also found that the incidence of cardiovascular events increased during the several hours before the match and that the highest incidence was observed during the two hours after the start of the match. Also, the incidence remained high for several hours after the end of the match.

Six previous studies have looked at the association between soccer matches and illness or death from cardiovascular causes, but the results have previously been inconsistent.

'The consequence should not be to scare patients into avoiding the Olympic Games,' said Dr Kallmayer, 'But people with risk factors such as high blood pressure or known coronary artery disease should be aware that emotional stress can trigger a coronary event, and they should ensure any medical problems are well under control before exposing themselves to exceptional stress levels.'