Doctors urge moderation as ‘Holiday Heart Syndrome’ peaks during holidays

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — You may be preparing to enjoy some drinks for New Year’s Eve, but too much of a good thing is not always a good thing.

To put it simply Holiday Heart Syndrome is irregular heartbeats, also known as atrial fibrillation, and it’s more commonly diagnosed around the holidays for many reasons, mainly due to consuming too much alcohol.

Dr. Mark Freher, with the Palm Beach Health Network, tells CBS12 News stress, lack of sleep, eating too much sugar or fatty foods can also contribute to these irregular heart beats. He explains holiday heart syndrome is more common among young healthy people who don’t have heart disease.

He says it’s critical to not overindulge and try your best to keep your stress levels low, but ore importantly if you do overindulge you need to watch out for the signs that something might be wrong.

“You tend to get a lot of palpitations, lightheadedness, sweats, some chest pain, and generally sometimes fatigue and not feeling well,” Dr. Freher tells CBS12 News. “The big peak time it hits is generally a day or 2 after the holiday. It’s 12 to 24 hours later, it’s actually more from the hangover, than it is from the drinking, per say.”

The big peak time it hits is generally a day or 2 after the holiday. It’s 12 to 24 hours later, it’s actually more from the hangover, than it is from the drinking, per say.

Dr. Freher says you absolutely should not put off being seen by a doctor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. While it could be just the hangover and it’ll correct itself after the hangover passes, he says he’s seen many cases where it’s something more and could reveal other underlying heart conditions.

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He recommends if you plan to party make sure to eat and drink in moderation.

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