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"  Sure, we all want the Super Bowl to be a heart-pounding game, but a new study finds that if the action on the field gets too exciting, that heart-pounder might become a heart-stopper for some fans. CNN reports that a study published Monday in the journal Clinical Cardiology found that acute emotional stress brought on by a Super Bowl loss could result in fatal heart attacks. If intense enough, that stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in fight-or-flight responses like increased heart rate and blood pressure, which can in turn lead to cardiac deaths, especially in those with pre-existing heart conditions. &amp;quot;Fans develop an emotional connection to their team...and when their team loses, that&amp;#039;s an emotional stress,&amp;quot; the study&amp;#039;s lead author, Robert A. Kloner, M.D., a professor of cardiology at the University of Southern California&amp;#039;s Keck School of Medicine, told CNN. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s a brain-heart connection, and it is important for people to be aware of that.&amp;quot; The study compared the acute stress of witnessing an emotional sports loss to other potentially harmful triggers, including intense physical exertion, lack of sleep, and another common Super Bowl stressor -- overeating. Dip Your Super Bowl Chips in these Healthy Dips During last year&amp;#039;s Big Game, Americans consumed an estimated 1.25 billion chicken wings, according to the National Chicken Council, and the trade group the Calorie Control Council reports that this Super Bowl Sunday, the nation is poised to eat 30 million pounds of snacks like potato chips, pretzels, and tortilla chips (amounting to an average consumption of 1200 calories per person just from snacking alone.) Recipe: Healthy Hot Wings Studies have found that for people with pre-existing coronary disease, all that fatty snacking can have a dangerous effect on the cardiovascular system, leaving blood vessels in an abnormal state for between 3 and 5 hours after the meal. &amp;quot;One high-fat meal can cause your blood to be more likely to clot,&amp;quot; David Frid, M.D., a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic told CNN. But says Frid, changes in approaches to watching the Super Bowl can make a difference. &amp;quot;Address what needs to be changed so that you can make it to the end of the game.&amp;quot; Try These Healthier Football Snacks "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/cooking/nutrition/news/a15168/super-bowl-snacks-and-stress-can-be-deadly/>