Christmas may very well be the time to eat away endlessly, catch up with family time and indulge in some good winter shopping. Little do people know the after effects of a brilliant Christmas celebration. Health care providers have noticed some interesting facts that mark the next 4 days after Santa Claus pays a visit:

• The number of cardiac cases that include heart attacks, arrhythmias and heart failure increases in the last few days of Christmas. As people unwrap their Christmas goodies, they may be unaware of the risk that they are subjecting their hearts too.
• A study at the University of California states that the number of heart related deaths increase by nearly 5 % during Christmas vacations.
• A study in the year 2008 showed that there were 33 % more cases of heart failure following the four days after Christmas.

These could be due to following reasons:

• People tend to overdo the part of feeding their body with calories and drinking it up to bring in the festival. All this, along with the merry making may put extra pressure on the heart. Excess intake of alcohol can lead to irregular beating of the heart and could also result in a stroke.
• Most people delay going to the doctor and keep postponing visits till after the festival.
• Some people spend more than what they can afford as a part of bringing in the season. This adds on to the stress level and if they are already at risk, then this could be the very cause of a heart attack.
• The drop in temperature could also be the reason as it can lead to constriction of blood vessels, which in turn can raise the level of blood pressure. In such a case, if the person performs some strenuous physical activity, he may experience cardiac complications.

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