Know the warning signs of holiday heart

[KARE11 News, December 19, 2022] According to the American Heart Association, research shows more people die of heart attacks the last week of December than any other time of the year. Courtney Jordan Baechler, MD, is a preventive cardiologist with Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute. She spoke with KARE 11 about the reasons behind a phenomenon called holiday heart.

Dr. Jordan Baechler says the holidays are a stressful time and people tend to change their behaviors over the holidays by drinking more alcohol, sleeping less and eating less heart-healthy foods. She says it's not just heart attacks people need to be aware of but hospital cardiac arrests and heart failure exacerbations. She encouraged people to pay attention to signs of a heart attack, including chest pain, pain that spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, or neck, or other areas, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, among other symptoms.