People who grumble about Mondays might have a point — research shows it’s the day with the highest rate of heart attacks.
A study by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, based on local health service data, found that heart attack risk rises by 13% on the first workday of the week.
Researchers examined records from 10,528 patients hospitalized in Ireland and Northern Ireland between 2013 and 2018.
Doctors diagnosed the patients with the most severe type of heart attack, called ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which occurs when a major coronary artery becomes completely blocked. Doctors observed that cases of STEMI were especially frequent on Mondays.
Causes
Many experts explain the spike on this particular day by pointing to the heightened stress people feel when returning to work after a restful weekend.
Earlier research has also suggested that disruptions in the circadian rhythm—the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle—may contribute to the rise in heart attack cases.
“The precise reason behind these fluctuations remains unclear, but we believe it may be related to how circadian rhythms impact hormone levels that could trigger heart attacks and strokes,” said Jack Laffan, the cardiologist who led the study at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
“It’s probably linked to the stress of going back to work. Higher stress levels raise cortisol—the stress hormone—which is connected to an increased heart attack risk.”
Heart Attack Rates Climb in Brazil, Now the Main Cause of Cardiovascular Fatalities
In Brazil, an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occur each year, making it the top cause of death related to cardiovascular conditions. From 2019 to 2022, hospitalizations for heart attacks registered by the SUS rose by over 25%, increasing from 81,500 in 2016 to more than 100,000 in 2022.
A study by the National Institute of Cardiology revealed that from 2008 to 2022, heart attack-related hospitalizations rose by approximately 158% among men and 157% among women.
Read the original article on: O Globo
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