You are more likely to have a serious heart attack on a Monday, a study has suggested.
Doctors discovered a 13% spike at the start of the working week after analysing data from 10,528 patients across Ireland.
They were admitted to hospital with the most serious type of heart attack – an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which happens when a major coronary artery is completely blocked.
STEMI rates were highest on a Monday and were also higher than expected on a Sunday.
Scientists have so far been unable to fully explain this ‘Blue Monday’ phenomenon, but previous studies linked it to our circadian rhythm – the body’s sleep or wake cycle.
According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) there are more than 30,000 hospital admissions due to STEMI each year in the UK.
It requires emergency assessment and treatment to minimise heart damage, normally performed with emergency angioplasty – a procedure to reopen the blocked coronary artery.
Cardiologist Dr Jack Laffan: ‘We’ve found a strong statistical correlation between the start of the working week and the incidence of STEMI.
‘This has been described before but remains a curiosity. The cause is likely multifactorial, however, based on what we know from previous studies, it is reasonable to presume a circadian element.’
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the BHF, added: ‘Someone is admitted to hospital due to a life-threatening heart attack every five minutes in the UK, so it’s vital that research continues to shed light on how and why heart attacks happen.
‘This study adds to evidence around the timing of particularly serious heart attacks, but we now need to unpick what it is about certain days of the week that makes them more likely.
‘Doing so could help doctors better understand this deadly condition so we can save more lives in future.’
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