Holiday Heart Syndrome, which is an unheard of disease, can take lives especially during long holiday periods. Noting that this syndrome, which is known as ‘Holiday Heart Syndrome’ in English, actually entered the literature 40 years ago, Altınbaş University Hospital Medical Park Bahçelievler Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Barış Çaynak said that the ‘Holiday Heart Syndrome’ is a serious rhythm disorder in the heart of a person who has never had a heart problem before, due to excessive consumption of food and alcohol on holiday.
Prof. Dr. Çaynak warned about the ‘Holiday Heart Syndrome’.
It is common between the ages of 30-50
Holiday Heart Syndrome, which is generally seen in the 30-50 age group, has complaints such as fainting and loss of consciousness apart from rhythm disorder. may also occur. Holiday Heart Syndrome is not a deadly syndrome by itself. However, accompanying dizziness, difficulty in breathing, feeling of pressure in the chest, fainting, loss of consciousness, palpitations can be dangerous. The condition can progress to heart failure or stroke.
The heart atrial rhythm is losing its rhythm
Our diet is disrupted on vacation. ‘I eat on vacation, when I get home, I lose the weight I gained. The thought of ‘I go on vacation once a year, I have to eat and drink to the fullest’ harms our health. Uncontrolled consumption of fast food, the desire to taste a little bit of everything in open buffets, plus kilos are recorded in our household. Eating more food than we always eat and excessive alcohol consumption cause an increase in free fatty acids in the blood, causing sudden and unexplained rhythm disturbances in the heart. The rhythm disorder experienced is mostly the loss of rhythm of the atria of the heart (atrial fibrillation). The effects of Holiday Heart Syndrome are seen in the first 48 hours after drinking alcohol. However, after quitting, the situation improves. The reason why the disease is called ‘Holiday Heart’ is because people consume more food and drink than usual while on vacation.
Emphasizing that excessive alcohol consumption causes liver diseases, heart failure, oral and esophageal cancer, as well as increasing blood pressure. Dr. Çaynak said that this situation is also a trigger for hypertension, and that it can cause temporary and permanent strokes by affecting the blood flow locally, especially in the brain.
Mimics a heart attack
Holiday Heart Syndrome has been known for 40 years, but its mechanism has not been understood until today. Because while the mechanism is being searched, no findings related to the heart are found. The artery is not clogged, the heart valve is not defective, there is no heart failure, but it shows symptoms that mimic a heart attack. The heart’s rhythm cells work like a power line. Some elements such as sodium, potassium and calcium provide the functioning of the mechanism of rhythm cells. Excessive alcohol consumption changes the balance of these elements, disrupting the rhythm of the heart. Cardiac arrhythmia is an important symptom. Such palpitations are not always benign palpitations. If the rhythm disorder continues, it causes clot formation in the heart. That clot also throws into the brain and a stroke happens. For this reason, we use very strong blood thinners in the treatment of these ongoing rhythm disorders. Therefore, it is necessary to determine well whether the rhythm disorder is temporary or permanent.
Extreme sports tire the heart
As a society, we are a society that attaches importance to hospitality, but sometimes we can turn this into a rush. While boredom and haste affect the heart negatively, the treats offered also disrupt diets. We also lose our sleep rhythm during the holidays. We are starting to go to sleep and wake up later than usual. Disruption of sleep rhythm negatively affects our heart rhythm. When people who regularly exercise in their routine life do not do their exercises on vacation or people who lead a life away from sports suddenly become interested in extreme sports while on vacation, their hearts can naturally be adversely affected. Parachute, jet ski etc. tried for the first time while on vacation. Sports that cause sudden excitement and fear can activate the sympathetic nervous system and tire the heart.
