This article was originally published on Fox 26 Houston
HOUSTON – As the holiday season unfolds, the American Heart Association issues a crucial warning: more people die from heart attacks during the week of Christmas than at any other time of the year. We spoke with Dr. Khaled Khalaf, an interventional cardiologist at Vital Heart & Vein, to discuss how to protect yourself and maintain heart health not only during this critical week but throughout the year.
This is historically a dangerous week for Americans! “It’s well known since the 1970s that not only does mortality increase during the winter, but specifically around Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day, you see this holiday spike, an increase in mortality across the board, not just cardiac, but non-cardiac, too,” he explains.
Dr. Khalaf suggests that behavioral changes during the busy holiday season may contribute to this increase. “During the holidays, people aren’t eating right. They’re not exercising properly, too much alcohol and smoking,” he says.
