’Tis the Season for the Holiday Heart Attack

The last week of the year is the deadliest time for cardiac issues. Here’s the sobering truth on how to stay merry and avoid a Christmas coronary.

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Food, drinks, gifts, and visits with loved ones make the holidays a festive time of year. But as doctors warn, all that merriment can be tough on your ticker.

Heart attacks and strokes are at their highest during the holiday season. More cardiac deaths occur on Christmas Day than on any other day of the year, according to research published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Even more concerning, this year may present a double whammy: The upcoming holiday falls on a Monday — the most deadly day of the week for heart attacks.

Between Christmas and New Year’s, the number of Americans dying of heart-related causes jumps by about 4%, a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association concluded. A 2018 analysis published in the British Medical Journal found that the risk of having a heart attack is about 37% higher on Christmas Eve compared to other days of the year.

“The holidays are a busy, often stressful time for many,” American Heart Association Chief Clinical Science Officer Mitchell…