A Duke vs. UNC Final Four will be stressful for some. Could it be bad for your health?
When Duke and UNC meet in the Final Four on Saturday, it will mark the third match-up between the archrivals this season — and the third time Duke and UNC fans fight a tangle of excitement and stress.
As one of the best rivalries in sports, this historic game would carry high stakes in any year. For starters, it will be the first time they’ve ever met in the national tournament and there’s a trip to the national title game on the line.
But this year, with it also being Mike Krzyzewski’s last season as head coach of the Blue Devils, tensions are almost off the charts heading into the game.
Duke fans, of course, want their beloved coach to end his time playing against UNC with a win. But UNC fans are hoping the Tar Heels spoil the fun, like they did earlier this season when they beat the Blue Devils in Krzyzewski’s last home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Almost immediately after the Tar Heels secured their trip to the Final Four and sealed in their match-up with Duke, fans of both teams on social media began commenting on the stress the game will bring.
One Twitter user said this week “is gonna be the most stressful week in the history of the 919 area code,” while multiple others said they might have heart attacks while watching the game.
But can watching a stressful sporting event actually cause you to experience a medical emergency?
To find out the answer to that question and more, The News & Observer talked with Dr. Christoper Kelly, a cardiologist with UNC Rex Healthcare and author of “Am I Dying?!: A Complete Guide To Your Symptoms and What To Do Next.”
Here’s what we learned.
Health risks for most fans are ‘minimal’
Whether you’re cheering for Duke or North Carolina on Saturday, there’s good news where your health is concerned.
“Regarding the health risks of watching an event like this, they’re very minimal,” Kelly said.
If you’re a generally healthy person who doesn’t already experience medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, you shouldn’t have much to worry about — at least health-wise — when watching the game.
That’s because a heart attack is typically the result of a “long process” over many years, in which people develop plaque on their hearts, Kelly said. Heart attacks can then be triggered by an “acutely stressful event that causes all that plaque to kind of degenerate.”
So, it’s not likely that watching one high-stress basketball game would trigger a heart attack in someone who isn’t already at risk for one.
“If you don’t have any risk factors at all, then your risk is basically zero,” Kelly said. “And I think you can go ahead and scream at the TV and do whatever you want.”
What do studies show about heart risks from watching sports?
Kelly said there have been some studies that showed an increase in heart attack risks around sporting events, including one in 2008 that looked at the impact of World Cup soccer matches in Germany.
▪ In that study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that cardiovascular events were about three times more likely to occur in men during Germany’s World Cup matches, compared to the control, or normal, period for the group.
▪ For women, cardiovascular events were about two times more likely to occur when Germany was playing in World Cup matches, compared to the control period.
But Kelly said those increased risks are similar to what you might experience in other acutely stressful times in your life, such as family gatherings at the holidays, in traffic jams or even on Monday mornings.
“If you just look at the population level, we’re talking about a few people having more events than expected on the day of a major sporting event,” Kelly said. “So, for any one individual, the risk is extremely low. But you don’t want to be one of those few extra people who had a heart attack because the game was on.”
Risks could be higher for those with heart conditions
But the risks for suffering a heart attack during the game could be slightly higher for fans who already experience risk factors for heart disease, as the added acute stress of the game could be a trigger for an attack — though, again, it isn’t all that likely for most people.
Kelly said those risk factors for heart disease include:
▪ High blood pressure
▪ Diabetes
▪ Smoking
▪ Obesity
▪ Family history of heart disease
If you have been diagnosed with heart disease or experience any of these risk factors, it’s probably a good idea to monitor your stress level during the game and make sure you’re not overdoing it.
“If you have those things, even if you don’t have a known history of heart disease, you should just be cautious about engaging in anything that will cause your your blood pressure to get really high,” Kelly said.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch the game at all.
“I don’t think anyone out there needs to make sure they’re away from a television set while the game is happening,” Kelly said. “But definitely people who have established heart disease or risk factors for heart disease just need to make sure, as always, they don’t overdo it while they’re watching, and if they don’t, then they should be fine.”
Stress signs to look out for during the game
So, what signs might indicate that the game is becoming too stressful for you and your heart?
In general, you’ll likely know, based on your own body and history, whether the game is becoming too much for you.
▪ A 2019 post from the Harvard Health Blog recommends people with a history of cardiovascular disease who are watching intense games think about how much exercise your doctor has told you is safe.
If you feel yourself reaching a point of exhaustion similar to what you might experience when exercising past your limit, that’s a sign that you might need to step away.
▪ You could also monitor your blood pressure throughout the game, though Kelly said he doesn’t recommend that unless fans want to do so.
But if you did monitor it, you might expect to see your numbers are “mildly elevated,” with a top number reading in the 150s or 160s, depending on how “into the action” you are, Kelly said.
If you were to see a top number in the 180s or higher, “that’s a problem and you’ve got to go to a quiet room and sit down and calm down, and remeasure it a few minutes later, and let it come down,” Kelly said.
Ways to cope with the stress
To avoid reaching those unsafe levels of stress during the game, there are various methods you can use to cope and keep yourself in check.
For people with heart disease or other risk factors, many of these tips will likely be ones that you follow in your everyday life already, based on the recommendations of your doctor. But it’s important not to let the excitement of the game distract you from your typical healthy lifestyle choices.
▪ If you take medications for your heart or another medical condition, don’t forget to take them on gameday.
▪ As tempting as it can be to turn to large amounts of alcohol — either in celebration or frustration for your team — don’t drink too much.
▪ It’s fun to watch the game surrounded by tasty party snacks, but many go-to foods for those situations are very salty. Don’t overindulge.
▪ You should also avoid getting too hyped up for the game, Kelly said. That means standing up and screaming at the TV probably isn’t a good idea for those with heart disease or other risk factors.
▪ If you feel yourself becoming too stressed and think watching the game might be becoming an unsafe decision, try walking into another room. Removing yourself from the situation can help you calm down and return to a safe state.
The bottom line from Kelly: “Just try not to let your stress get too exaggerated.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 8:41 AM with the headline "A Duke vs. UNC Final Four will be stressful for some. Could it be bad for your health?."
