World Cup Soccer Stress Leads to Heart Attacks

Is this for real?

Heart attacks could leap by 25 per cent if England crash out of the World Cup on penalties this weekend, say medical experts.

And not only that, health experts claim “soccer stress” could lead to unhealthy and risky behaviors:

• Binge-drinking
• Eating fast food
• Increased smoking
• Relationship stress
• Mood swings
• Aggression
• Depression

I have seen firsthand the gloom and doom that accompanies the loss of a football game. Then there’s the urban myth of increased wife beating on Superbowl Sundays. What other side effects of sporting disappointment would you add to the list above?

More on World Cup-related heart health.

Lifestyle Extra, June 23, 2006