Super Bowl loss may be lethal for heart--study

A recent research conducted by the University of Southern California showed that death due to strokes rose by an average of 20 percent in the two weeks following a loss.

The figures were even more elevated for older pensioners at 22 per cent.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Kloner of Good Samaritan Hospital and the University of Southern California, reasons, "The team, in some ways, becomes like part of the family and emotional stress stimulates the fight or flight response.

“This may lead to the sympathetic nervous system jazzing up adrenalin being released leading to increase in demand for oxygen. When this demand isn’t met, a heart attack may occur.”

The study found that when the Pittsburgh Steelers staged a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the underdog L.A. Rams in 1980, 15 percent heart-related deaths in men and 27 percent in women were linked with that loss.

Details of the study
For the purpose of the study, the researchers measured the “emotional stress” in populations by looking at the death certificates data in Los Angeles for two weeks after the Super Bowls of 1980 and 1984.

The study found that when the Pittsburgh Steelers staged a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the underdog L.A. Rams in 1980, 15 percent heart-related deaths in men and 27 percent in women were linked with that loss.

The elderly fans of both the genders fared worse, as the death rate among them was 22 percent more than the young fans.

However, there was no statistical significant difference between the various races.

Conversely, in the two weeks that followed the Los Angeles Raiders' Super Bowl win over the Washington Redskins in 1984, there was a dip in cardiac death rates in comparison to non Super-Bowl years.

Implications of the study
The study found that risk of death due to heart disease and stroke was higher in female fans.

Researchers theorize that a number of factors might attribute to the high number of women's deaths related to loss in the game.

"One possibility is that the Super Bowl could elicit an emotional response that's similar in males and females," Kloner said. "Another thought is that when males react to the Super Bowl that adversely affects the emotional state of his female partner."

The study warns sports fans with weak heart of the risks associated with watching the big game.

According to experts, watching the Super Bowl may be just one factor contributing to the stress.

The parties that typically surround the event usually involve alcohol, which could also stress the heart.

Kloner stated, “Physicians and patients should be aware that stressful games might elicit an emotional response that could trigger a cardiac event. Stress reduction programs or certain medications might be appropriate in individual cases.”

The study is published Monday in the journal 'Clinical Cardiology.'