Stress, football and heart attacks: how football matches affect the heart
Emotional tension during decisive football matches can increase cardiovascular risk. Discover how sports stress affects the heart and when to have a cardiac check-up in Barcelona.
Barça won La Liga… and thousands of hearts were pushed to the limit
Football stress and cardiac risk
FC Barcelona’s victory once again showed that football is experienced far beyond the pitch. Nerves, tension, adrenaline and emotions at their peak kept millions of fans glued to the match until the final minute.
But what many people do not know is that these types of sporting events can also have a real impact on cardiovascular health.
Several studies have shown that during decisive matches there is an increase in heart attacks, arrhythmias and hypertensive crises, especially in people with hypertension, high cholesterol, chronic stress or undiagnosed heart problems.
Why can football affect the heart?
When we experience a match with maximum intensity, the body enters a state of alert. Adrenaline increases, blood pressure rises and the heart works faster.
In healthy people this usually remains a temporary reaction. However, in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, emotional stress can become a dangerous trigger.
In addition, during these types of events it is common to add other factors that directly affect the heart, such as alcohol, tobacco, lack of sleep or accumulated stress.
The problem often appears without warning
One of the biggest risks is that many people do not know they have hypertension, arrhythmias or cardiovascular disease until an important episode occurs.
That is why cardiovascular prevention is essential, especially after the age of 40 or in people with family history and stressful lifestyles.
Checking your heart is also prevention
At INSCOR Cardiology we carry out personalised cardiovascular check-ups, advanced diagnostic tests and sports cardiology and cardiovascular prevention programmes in Barcelona.
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