Holiday Heart Syndrome

Contributing author: Alice Krueger

In her made-for-TV movie, LeAnn Rimes advises everyone to “Put a little holiday in your heart..” That’s great, unless you end up in the Emergency Room with atrial fibrillation or a heart attack. Then you might be diagnosed with Holiday Heart Syndrome¹.

Atrial fibrillation feels like heart palpitations, caused by an extremely rapid abnormal heart rhythm in the atria or upper chambers of the heart. It is often accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath and feeling light-headed, and may lead to stroke or heart failure.

A heart attack occurs when blood vessels in the heart muscle become blocked. The blockage is often a plaque of fatty substances (cholesterol) inside the hollow of the blood vessels. The affected area of muscle is damaged or dies from lack of oxygen, and the pumping action of the heart is impaired or stops altogether.

Heart injuries and heart attacks are most common during the holiday season. December 25 is the date with the highest rate of fatal heart attacks, followed by December 26 and January 1². The increase in deadly cardiac events on these dates might be due to several factors, including delaying treatment for cardiac symptoms “because it’s the holidays,” being sad or depressed, or abnormal amounts of exercise in cold weather (such as shoveling heavy snow).

Research has shown that one of the main causes of Holiday Heart Syndrome is heavy alcohol consumption³. While low alcohol consumption may have a positive effect on your heart’s health⁴, heavy drinking has devastating effects on the level of fatty acids in the blood and the functioning of the heart’s electrical pacing system⁵.

Heavy alcohol consumption is defined as more than 14 drinks in a week or more than 4 drinks in one day for men. For women, it’s defined as more than 7 drinks in a week or more than 3 drinks in one day⁶. One drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounce of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits⁷ (reference 7 has a nice illustration of amounts). This means both steady higher levels of consumption and binge drinking are problematic, behaviors which may be more prevalent during the holiday season.

Other holiday lifestyle factors can result in cardiac problems. Overeating, probably even more common than usual during the holidays, causes the stomach and intestines to stretch out. This activates nerves that usually slow down the heart. However, in people who have atrial fibrillation, stimulation of these nerves may set off the irregular rapid heartbeat.

We also tend to take in excessive amounts of salt in our food. This causes our bodies to retain fluid, which raises blood pressure. If people already have high blood pressure or heart valve or heart failure issues, the increase in blood pressure may stretch out the atria of the heart and initiate atrial fibrillation.

The best way to prevent Holiday Heart Syndrome is to avoid heart injury factors that are within your control. Don’t drink alcohol, eat or consume salt in excess. Avoid stress and excessive physical exertion. And remember that reaching out to someone who is alone during the holidays not only will improve their heart health, it will benefit you as well.

Please have a happy and healthy holiday, everyone.

References

¹ Tonelo, D., Providencia R. & Goncalves, L. (2013). Holiday Heart Syndrome revisited after 34 years. Arquivos Brasileirios de Cardiologia, 101(2), 183-189.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3998158/

² Phillips, D.P., Jarvinen, J.R., Abramson, I.S. & Phillips, R.R. (2004). Cardiac mortality is higher around Christmas and New Year’s than at any other time: The holidays as a risk factor for death. Circulation, 110(25), 3781-3788.

³ Ettinger, P.O., Wu, C.F., De La Cruz, C., Jr., Weisse A,B,, Ahmed, S.S. & Regan T.J. (1978). Arrhythmias and the “Holiday Heart”: Alcohol-associated cardiac rhythm disorders. American Heart Journal, 95(5), 555-562.

⁴ Friedman, L.A. & Kimball, A.W. (1986). Coronary heart disease mortality and alcohol consumption in Framingham. American Journal of Epidemiology, 124(3), 481-489.

⁵ Laposata, E.A. & Lange, L.G. (1986). Presence of nonoxidative ethanol metabolism in human organs commonly damaged by ethanol abuse. Science, 231(4737), 497-499.

⁶ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2016). Drinking levels defined.
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking

⁷ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2016). What is a standard drink?
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/what-standard-drink

Image credit: Prawny on Pixabay

Humpday Hint: What's With Those Cobwebs?

Contributing Author: Gentle Heron

In late fall and early winter, we’re more likely to notice cobwebs hanging about in the corners of our living spaces. What are they, how do they get there, and what should we do to get rid of them and prevent more from forming?

A “cob” is an Old English word for “spider,” so a cobweb is a web produced by a spider. Most spiders can create a form of silk in their bodies, which they use to spin traps to catch their insect food. They make some of the silk sticky so that insects blundering into the web are caught just like on fly paper. Unfortunately, when the spider abandons the web or dies, the sticky strands persist, and collect dust, pollen and dander. That’s why the cobwebs we dislike in our homes often look shaggy. That’s not how the spider made them, it’s a reflection of the particulate nature of the air inside our houses.

Spiders can be inside human structures at any time of year, but they seem to come in most frequently in late fall and early winter, as the outdoors weather becomes colder. You probably want to keep them out, and the way to prevent their sharing your home is the same as how to get rid of cobwebs- regular dusting. Nearly invisible webs may be being constructed in the corners without your notice.

There is more danger in dusting away spiderwebs from standing on wobbly chairs than there is from being bitten by the spider, if it is still in residence, which is unlikely in a cobweb. Here are some safe ways to remove cobwebs from the corners of rooms:

• Use the extension nozzle on your vacuum cleaner.
• Use a long-handled soft duster and shake it out outdoors frequently.
• Rubber band a soft cloth over the bristles of a broom and sweep up in the corners.
• Stick an old sock over the end of a yardstick and swipe the corners.

Remember that spiders and their webs can also hide in drapes and other fabrics. Use the vacuum cleaner attachments to get rid of most of the web, and then use a lint roller to get off the stickiest strands. Launder the curtains if possible to remove any debris.

And since the fuzzy look of cobwebs is due to dust in the air, be sure that you keep your environment as dust-free as possible. Cover furniture in the corners of rooms with an old towel when you dust overhead, and then launder the towel. Vacuum immediately after dusting to remove displaced dust from the floors. Be sure to dust window blinds, underneath and behind large items of furniture, the blades of ceiling fans and around heat/air conditioning vents. These areas collect and spread dust which gets caught in spider webs.

To keep spiders from entering your home, seal cracks carefully. Pay special attention to sealing around door and window frames. Be sure vent openings are covered with insect screens.

Don’t bring spiders into your home when you move outdoor potted plants in for the winter. Carefully inspect foliage before you bring the pots inside.

Spiders do not like certain smells, so you might consider some “aromatherapy” to prevent their return. Spray corners that spiders seem to want to build their webs in with a mixture of vinegar and water. You can also try essential oils such as peppermint, eucalyptus or lemon sprayed or dabbed on cotton balls and left to scent the air.

Editor's Note: If you have pets, use caution with chemicals like essential oils. Check with your veterinarian to ensure you are using substances that are safe for your furry/feathery/scaly friends in your home.

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For Additional Reading

Cobwebs and how they form: The Secret Behind the Creation of Cobwebs

More ways to get rid of spiders and their webs: Get Rid of Spider Webs

Why you might not want to get rid of all cobwebs: The Joys of Cobwebs

Image credit: "Lucchetto", George Hodan, publicdomainpictures.net

Do You Really Need a Lawyer?

Contributing Author: Gentle Heron

Sometimes it’s obvious when you should hire a lawyer. If you have been served with a lawsuit or charged with committing a crime, or if you are going through a divorce, then you definitely need to consult with an attorney. But many other problems can be solved without turning to the legal profession.

If you have a dispute with a company, see if they have a customer service department which can settle your complaint. If you can’t get satisfaction there, check out the consumer protection department of your state’s attorney general. For a list of state attorneys general: http://www.naag.org/naag/attorneys-general/whos-my-ag.php.

If your problem is with a regulated industry, such as insurance or banking, consult the state agency that regulates them.

To find state regulatory agencies for:

• Banking: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1637/how-do-i-find-my-states-bank-regulator.html
• Insurance: http://www.naic.org/index_members.htm

Other alternatives to hiring a lawyer include seeking free advice from community and advocacy groups. If there is a university law school nearby, they may take on your case as a class project. And some media outlets will pursue your cause, although you may not appreciate that level of publicity.

It’s important to remember, however, that lawyers aren’t just useful for criminals or individuals involved in legal situations. They can help you establish a business, adopt a child, plan tax strategies, create your will and arrange your estate. Not only do lawyers assist people currently in trouble, but their advice can help you prevent future troubles.

Image from Morguefile

Are You Thinking About Self-Improvement?

Contributing Author: Gentle Heron

Can too much thinking hinder self-improvement? Aren’t we supposed to think about our performance and strive to better ourselves?

Dave Hill, 13 time PGA Tour winner, said, “Golf is like sex. You can’t be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performing.”

Why not?

Research on expert performance may help us understand why thinking while performing activities does not help improve our performance of them.

A study conducted by Timothy Wilson and Jonathan Schooler involved two groups of college students who were asked to rank jams. Individuals in the first group were given no further instructions; those in the second group were asked to justify their rankings. The jam rankings of the individuals told to explain their reasoning were less in line with expert rankings, and less in line with each other’s rankings, than were those of the group who just ranked the jams. Having to explain their decisions seems to have caused them to be less consistent, which could mean they were less capable of making wise decisions.

Also there is the research by Sian Beilock (author of Choke), who had golfers say “Stop” at the top of their follow-through swing. This kind of mental effort caused “paralysis by analysis.” Their performance significantly deteriorated.

Yet we also know that concentrating and focusing on details can help prevent nervous choking. Researcher Adam Nicholls asked pro athletes to record in a diary their stresses and coping mechanisms. One common and effective strategy these accomplished professional athletes used for dealing with stress was increasing their attention and effort. This study is less objective than the previous two, but has “ecological validity,” meaning it is more like what the subjects would be doing “for real,” and less like an experimental setup using artificial tasks.

What drives experts toward expertise? Expert development does not occur through anything other than hard work.

The Pareto principle is often generalized to tell us that the last 20% of achievement, working toward expertise, requires 80% of your effort. The ability to recognize one’s flaws when judged against the stricter standards developed by expertise, to continue to see room for improvement, is what allows experts to both become experts and to continue to grow their expertise. But of course, the expert must also have a motivation, a strong desire to continue to improve. The Japanese call this “kaizen.”

In our daily lives, performing our ADLs, good enough performance is just that, good enough. Once we learn how to do these things, their performance becomes automatic. Do you think a lot about how to brush your teeth, wash the dishes, button your shirt or tie your shoes? No, these are activities you can perform nearly automatically.

But when we need to be really good at something, routine performance simply is not adequate. You must always be aware of the quality of each element of your actions.

Philosopher Barbara Gail Montero posits that golf is like sex not because attention detracts from performance, but because both are all-encompassing activities. Perhaps the actions of a pro golfer and an expert lover are stimulated by a desire to each time be “better than ever.” And that can never be done automatically.

Believing that you can achieve expert levels on any activity without a lot of conscious effort is magical thinking. If we truly want to improve ourselves, we need to make a commitment to the work that it will take. “Good enough” ability will require less effort to achieve, but you still must make a personal commitment.

Images from Pixabay

Resources

Montero, B. G. (2016). “The Myth of ‘Just Do It’.” in (Ed.) Catapano, P. & Critchley, S. The Stone Reader; Modern philosophy in 133 arguments. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation.