Fatal Heart Attacks Are More Common On A Monday – New Research

New research suggests that Mondays are the day of the week when serious heart attacks are most likely to occur.

According to the study, the chances of having a heart attack on a Monday were 13% higher than predicted.

Data from 10,528 patients—7,112 in the Republic of Ireland and 3,416 in Northern Ireland—were analyzed by physicians at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.

Between 2013 and 2018, they had undergone hospitalization for the most severe form of heart attack, an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which happens when a major coronary artery is blocked.

The researchers discovered a rise in STEMI heart attacks at the beginning of the workweek, with rates on Monday being the greatest.

The results were revealed at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) conference in Manchester, and Sunday rates were also higher than anticipated.

This “Blue Monday” phenomenon has defied scientific explanation.

A link between Monday heart attacks and circadian rhythm, or the body’s sleep/wake cycle, has been noted in earlier studies.

In the UK, STEMI causes more than 30,000 hospital admissions annually, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Emergency angioplasty, a procedure to reopen the blocked coronary artery, is typically performed during the attack to assess the situation quickly and treat the patient to minimize heart damage.

“We’ve found a strong statistical correlation between the start of the working week and the incidence of STEMI,” said Belfast Health and Social Care Trust’s chief researcher, cardiologist Dr. Jack Laffan.

“This has been described before but remains a curiosity. The cause is likely multifactorial, however, based on what we know from previous studies, it is reasonable to presume a circadian element.”

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the BHF, said: “Someone is admitted to hospital due to a life-threatening heart attack every five minutes in the UK, so it’s vital that research continues to shed light on how and why heart attacks happen.

“This study adds to evidence around the timing of particularly serious heart attacks, but we now need to unpick what it is about certain days of the week that makes them more likely.

“Doing so could help doctors better understand this deadly condition so we can save more lives in the future.”