Cardiac deaths rise measurably around Christmas and New Year — and the biggest single reason is delay. People having warning symptoms decide not to ruin the family gathering, and wait until Monday. If you take one thing from this article: do not postpone chest pain, breathlessness, or stroke symptoms because of the calendar. Our Emergency Room is open on Christmas Day, at 3am, and on New Year’s Eve, staffed by board-certified providers exactly as on any other day.
Why the holidays are genuinely harder on your body
Several things stack up at once. Rich, salty food and more alcohol than usual. Disrupted sleep. Travel. Stress and family friction. Missed medication doses. Cold-weather exertion for visitors not used to it. And a widespread, entirely understandable reluctance to “make a fuss” at the worst possible moment.
Holiday heart syndrome is a real and named phenomenon: atrial fibrillation — a fast, irregular heart rhythm — triggered by a bout of heavy drinking, often in people with no previous heart problems. It presents as palpitations, breathlessness, chest discomfort, or lightheadedness. It needs assessment, because atrial fibrillation raises stroke risk.
Do not wait on these
Come in, or call 911, regardless of the date:
- Chest pain or pressure, especially with sweating, nausea, breathlessness, or pain in the arm or jaw
- Stroke signs — face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty. Call 911 and note the time.
- Breathlessness at rest
- A fast, irregular, pounding heartbeat that does not settle
- Severe abdominal pain
- Any head injury with confusion, drowsiness, or repeated vomiting
- A fall in an older adult, particularly with hip, back, or head pain
- A burn that is blistering, larger than a palm, or on the face or hands
- Suspected poisoning, or a child who has swallowed something — call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222
Food, drink, and medication
Eat what you like — this is not the article that tells you to skip the pie. But two things are worth managing deliberately.
Salt and fluid, if you have heart failure or high blood pressure. Holiday food is extraordinarily salty, and a few days of it can tip someone into fluid overload — swelling ankles, breathlessness lying flat, a few pounds gained in a week. If you weigh yourself daily as part of managing heart failure, keep doing it over the holidays; that is when it earns its keep.
Alcohol interacts with a long list of medications, worsens reflux and sleep, raises blood pressure, and triggers the atrial fibrillation described above. It also makes people feel warm while accelerating heat loss, which matters if the evening ends outdoors.
Keep taking your medication on schedule. Travel, guests, and disrupted routine are the classic reasons doses get missed — and blood pressure and diabetes medications are not the sort you can take a week off from. Set a phone alarm, and if you are travelling, pack medication in hand luggage with a few extra days’ supply.
Food safety matters more when cooking for a crowd: keep hot food above 140°F and cold food below 40°F, do not leave anything out more than two hours, use a thermometer for poultry, and refrigerate leftovers promptly. Most holiday food poisoning comes from food left sitting out during a long afternoon.
Travelling and visitors
Fountain Hills fills with family and seasonal residents at exactly the point when respiratory viruses are circulating. A few habits genuinely reduce transmission: wash hands with soap and water properly, avoid touching your face, and if you are unwell, stay away from elderly relatives and anyone immunocompromised — even if it means missing the meal.
Get vaccinated before you travel, not after you arrive. Influenza vaccination takes about two weeks to take effect, and it is far easier to arrange at home than in an unfamiliar town.
On long flights and long drives, get up and move regularly to reduce blood clot risk — particularly if you are pregnant, recently had surgery, or have a clotting history. Drink water rather than relying on coffee and alcohol.
And for visiting relatives: our Medical Clinic sees visitors, and our Emergency Room certainly does. If a family member arrives with a chronic condition and no local provider, we can help.
The unglamorous injuries we actually see
Falls while decorating. Ladders on uneven ground, reaching from the top step, hanging lights on the roof alone. Have someone hold the ladder, do not over-reach, and consider whether the roofline lights are worth it this year.
Knife and burn injuries in busy kitchens. Slow down, and keep pot handles turned inward with children around.
Button batteries — in singing cards, ornaments, and small gadgets. If a child swallows one it is a genuine emergency: it can burn through the oesophagus within hours. Come in immediately; do not wait for symptoms.
Choking hazards in small toys and gift packaging for under-threes.
Candle fires and dry trees. Keep a live tree watered and candles away from anything flammable — and never leave them burning unattended.
Sore backs from unaccustomed lifting, and chest pain from unaccustomed exertion — the visiting relative who has not exercised in months and goes for a hike at altitude.
The part people find hardest to say
The holidays are difficult for a lot of people. Grief is louder when everyone else is celebrating, isolation is sharper, and alcohol makes low mood worse rather than better. If you are struggling, that is a medical issue and a legitimate reason to ask for help — talk to us at the clinic.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and staffed 24 hours a day: call or text 988.
And if you have an older neighbour or relative living alone, a visit or a phone call over the holidays is worth more than most gifts. A surprising number of the problems we see could have been caught a week earlier by someone simply noticing.
Where to go
Call 911 for chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe breathlessness, a serious fall, a significant burn, or a swallowed button battery.
Come to our Emergency Room — 9700 N. Saguaro Blvd, open every day of the year including holidays, no appointment needed. ER: (602) 671-7990.
Book our Medical Clinic before the season for vaccinations, a medication review, or a plan if you have a chronic condition: (602) 671-7981.
Related: heart attack symptoms · cold and flu season in Arizona
Sources
- American Heart Association — Holiday heart health
- CDC — Holiday health and safety tips
- FoodSafety.gov — Holiday food safety
- National Capital Poison Center — Button battery ingestion
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — 988lifeline.org