H E A R T H E A L T HF O R T H E H O L I D A Y S

By Andrew Rudin MD

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A common syndrome we see around th is t imeof year has been n icknamed:

“hol iday heart syndrome.”

Hol iday heart syndrome is a real medicalphenomenon that occurs when one consumeslarge amounts of food, a lcohol , caffe ine , andsal t . Here are t ips for you and your fami ly tostay healthy through the hol idays .

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This year , especia l ly i f you have ex ist ing heartproblems or h igh blood pressure , avoid havingexcess a lcohol wi th your hol iday meals .

St ick to around 1 a lcohol ic dr ink an hour (atmost ) not total ing more than 2 dr inks forwomen and 3 for men, and always make surethat i f you are dr ink ing, you’ re not dr iv ing .

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A V O I D A L C O H O L .

I f your hol iday season is part icular ly st ressful ,f ind ways to reduce and min imize the stress ofth ings l ike t ravel (p ick your t ravel dates wisely ,don’ t go on the busiest days) , g i f t shopping(make th is year a Secret Santa or WhiteElephant year so each person only has to buyone g i f t ) , and food prep ( i t ’s okay to buy a fewthings pre-made or even go out to d inner toavoid the stress of cooking al together . )

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A V O I D S T R E S S .

Avoid adding on a post-dinner coffee to everyparty or meal you attend. Alcohol and caffe inetogether can be dangerous not only becausethey make your heart work harder , but becausethe effects of caffe ine can mask your level ofintox icat ion , meaning you may feel that you’ remore capable of th ings l ike dr iv ing than youactual ly are .

Also , hav ing caffe ine late at n ight wi l l reduceyour qual i ty of s leep.

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A V O I D C A F F E I N E .

When you eat a large amount of food in one s i t t ing , i tcauses your stomach to expand and stretch in order toaccommodate the meal you just consumed. Thatdistent ion of the stomach can result in a st retchingref lex that can st imulate the nervous system and in i t iatefast heart rhythms such as atr ia l f ibr i l lat ion .

Instead of eat ing two help ings of food before yourbrother or s is ter had even f in ished thei r f i rs t , eat yourmeal in smal ler port ions over t ime. Have a conservat ivelysmal l p late to start and let that sett le . You can always goback for more once you’ve g iven your body proper t imeto d igest .

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A V O I D O V E R - E A T I N G .

Our bodies need a certa in amount of sal t , but onaverage, we as Amer ican’s consume way too much ona dai ly bas is a l ready ( I ’m ta lk ing more than doublewhat we should be having. ) When we consume toomuch sal t , our bodies hold onto f lu id and cause ourblood pressure to r ise .

For your hol iday rec ipes th is year , cut the sal t you’dnormal ly add in hal f . You probably won’ t not ice thetaste d i f ference and everyone wi l l have a l i t t le lesspost-meal bloat .

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A V O I D E X C E S S S A L T .

Know the symptoms of hol iday heart syndrome, so youknow what to look out for :

• Rapid pulse rate• Shortness of breath• Chest pa in• Swel l ing in the ankles or feet

I f your or anyone you’re with begins to d isplay any ofthese heart symptoms, go to the hospi ta l immediatelyand cal l 911 i f appropr iate .

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K N O W Y O U R S Y M P T O M S .

H A P P Y H O L I D A Y SA N D H A P P Y N E W Y E A R

From Andrew Rudin MD

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