Christmas Eve is often a time to spend getting together with family, cooking a nice meal and listening for the clop, clop of Santa’s reindeer on the roof. But the normally cheerful occasion has a darker secret — the greatest heart attack risk of the year.
That’s according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday, which found that a person’s risk of heart attack spikes during most holidays and peaks at around 10 p.m on Christmas Eve.
“The peak is very pronounced exactly on Christmas Eve and the following two days, so, I think it is something specific for the way we celebrate these holidays,” said Lund University cardiologist David Erlinge, according to the Telegraph.