Men watching a stressful sporting event are 50 per cent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Those already at risk of a heart attack should be warned of the dangers, and possibly advised to take an aspirin before a big match, says the Dutch team behind the new research. The researchers looked at the number of deaths from heart attacks and stroke in the Netherlands on 22 June 1996 – the day the Dutch football team was knocked out of the European Championship. They also identified the number of deaths in the five days before and after 22 June. Then they compared these figures with data for the same period in 1995 and 1997. The analysis showed there was a 50 per cent increase in male stroke deaths on the day of the football match. There was no increase in the number of female stroke deaths. “We were very surprised,” says Diederick Grobbee of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, who led the research. He thinks the main cause is increased emotional stress. “There’s good data to suggest that stressful events by themselves may trigger a cardiac arrest,” he told New Scientist. “However, we can’t be sure to what extent the increased intake of alcohol and excessive smoking on the day of the match might have also contributed to the deaths.” The data show that there was a dip in stroke deaths on the day after the match. “So it is likely that at least part of the increase is down to early heart attacks for people who were on the list anyway,” says Grobbee. However, he thinks men should be warned about the potential dangers of watching an important sporting event. Taking an aspirin before the match could help reduce the risk of early heart attack, he says. “Heart attacks also peak at certain times during the day, and it has been shown that aspirin takes away that peak. There may be the potential for advising men at risk of a heart attack to take an aspirin before a big sporting event.” More at: British Medical Journal (vol 321, p1552)