With the Super Bowl just concluded and the San Francisco 49ers defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, you can just imagine the heartbreak numerous San Francisco fans are experiencing over their team’s loss. But did you know that it can literally cause heart problems?
According to a 2011 study published in the journal Clinical Cardiology, the emotional stress experienced by fans of a losing team could increase an individual’s risk of heart attack. In particular, people with risk factors like smoking, diabetes or obesity could be at a higher risk of cardiovascular events.
Researchers analyzed death records from the 1980’s of Los Angeles residents who were avid Super Bowl fans. These records ranged 2 weeks after a Super Bowl game in which their NFL team lost, death rates of Los Angeles residents surged by 27 percent for women and 15 percent for men in that period.
In another year, things changed when the LA Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins. For the two weeks following the game, cardiovascular deaths didn’t increase in the city, in fact there was a slight decline in the death rate.
For more on the relation of heart related fatalities and the Super Bowl, read The Super Bowl, Stress and Heart Health.