Watching your team lose the Super Bowl may raise your chances of having a heart attack.
The stress of rooting for the losing team, found a new study by the Heart Institute of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, may substantially increase the chances that fans will die from heart attacks.
Risks are most likely highest for people who already suffer from heart problems and are susceptible to cardiac events.
High levels of stress often trigger a fight-or-flight response. Heart rate and blood pressure soar, increasing the heart's need for oxygen, while other physiological reactions limit the amount of oxygen that can get there.
In people who are prone to cardiovascular problems, all the extra heart-thumping anxiety can lead to irregular heartbeats known as arrhythmias. Atherosclerotic plaques can rupture, too, ultimately shutting off the flow of oxygen to the heart muscle.
A study of the two-week period after the L.A. Rams lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a close game was compared to post-Super Bowl periods that did not involve a local team.
As reported in the American Journal of Cardiology, the total number of deaths in L.A. after the 1980 loss rose from about 2.1 per day per 100,000 people to 2.4 per day per 100,000 people -- a spike of 17 percent. Deaths related to heart and circulatory issues rose 22 percent.
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