SAN ANTONIO — The holidays are fast approaching and for most of us that means family, friends, food and drinking. Doctors are warning about a heart problem connected to drinking too much.
We're talking about holiday heart syndrome, which is the increase in cases of atrial fibrillation or an irregular heartbeat. The condition often revolves around binge drinking during the holidays.
"The dangerous part about it is it increases your risks of stroke and increases your risk of developing a blood clot within the heart that can spread through your body," said Dr. David Lim, the Medical Director of Baptist Health System's Emergency Departments.
Holiday heart syndrome results from a combination excessive alcohol, high stress and dehydration. The combination of those three could cause an irregular heartbeat, also known as an arrhythmia. The main cause is the alcohol which does not allow the heart to contract properly, disrupting the heart's ability to distribute blood throughout the body.
"The heart loses some of the augmented flow. It's a little bit like having a four cylinder engine lose the turbo. So you don't get such good function," said Dr. Allen Anderson, a professor and chief of the Division of Cardiology at UT Health San Antonio, and director of the UT/University Health Heart & Vascular Institute.
The most common holiday heart syndrome symptoms are those over 65 years of age, certain health conditions like diabetes, obesity and heart failure, drinking a lot of alcohol, family history of AFib or heart disease, recent surgery on the esophagus, heart or lungs and a substance use disorder.
"There is definitely an association between diabetes and increased cardiovascular risks. And diabetes causes certain changes in the heart that this condition won't necessarily help," Dr. Anderson added.
Dr Lim told us, "Drinking in moderation. Be careful how much you drink during the holidays. I know we all want to have fun, but it's important that you kind of pace how much you're drinking and not not drink too much over the holidays. "