Doctors Warn Against Holiday Heart Attack Spike

Quick ... what time of the year are you at highest risk of a heart attack? Believe it or not, it's now. Some studies indicate that death rates from heart attacks and stroke as well as non-heart-related causes spike during the holiday season.

"It is not uncommon to see a heavier congestion in the hospital during the Christmas and New Year's period of time. Some years that's very true, but some years it's quiet," said cardiologist Keith Churchwell, M.D., associate director of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute.

A national database with detailed information on the 53 million deaths that occurred in the United States between 1973 and 2001 show that deaths from heart disease peak in December/January, with spikes on Christmas and New Year's Day, according to a University of California-San Diego study.

Churchwell said there are several possible reasons for the spike. People who are having symptoms of heart trouble prior to the holiday season tend to delay going to the doctor.

"They do so because of obligations at home, not wanting to spoil holiday fun, not wanting to deal with the possibility of going to the hospital and being taken care of over the holiday period," he said. "As a result, they are less likely to see their physicians over this period of time in order to get the acute care they may need."