Christmas Cardiac Catastrophes
Be aware, and be prepared, by knowing CPR.
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UPDATED: December 22, 2025
Studies show a significant spike in cardiac deaths around Christmas, particularly on December 25th and 26th of each year. Major contributing factors include physiological stressors such as overeating salty and fatty foods, and increased alcohol consumption. Disrupted sleep patterns, cold weather exposure, increased physical exertion, and stress due to travel and shopping also play a role.
Christmas time is especially hard on people who are spending the holiday alone or have lost loved ones. There is also heightened emotional stress due to dysfunctional family dynamics, the financial pressures of obligatory gift-giving, and unrealistic social expectations.
People tend to neglect their physical and mental health during the holidays, delay seeking healthcare, and dismiss their symptoms, not wanting to spoil the celebrations by needing medical attention. At the same time, there may be reduced medical staffing and delayed emergency response times during the holidays. Know that an impending heart attack is a true medical emergency that urgently requires care.
Prevention involves practicing moderation with food and alcohol, and managing stress through realistic expectations. Take breaks from the holiday activities as a gift to yourself, and respect your own needs. If you’re normally sedentary, avoid bouts of intense exertion such as shoveling snow or climbing ladders to put up decorations.
Understand the warning signs of a myocardial infarction (heart attack): chest pain or a feeling of pressure, shortness of breath, nausea, pain radiating to the jaw or arm, or unusual onset of fatigue. It is important to maintain one’s medication schedules, despite the holiday’s schedule disruptions, and not to delay seeking help if symptoms occur.
Let others know if you are not feeling well, and call emergency services immediately if you have any of those symptoms. Hopefully, you will be with people who know how to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). If you are not up-to-speed yourself with this life-saving procedure, please take a CPR class or get a refresher.
It’s the combination of holiday behavioral changes and delayed medical care that increases Christmas cardiac risk, particularly for those with existing cardiovascular disease. Be aware of those risks, take good care of yourself, and check in on socially isolated and medically vulnerable friends, neighbors, and relatives. Prompt symptom recognition, especially among high-risk individuals, and decisive actions, are essential.
Wishing you happy and healthy holidays, and all the best for 2026. I’ll be taking a short break from now until the New Year.
Dr. Mick
Welcome to the Healthy Living Is Good Medicine Newsletter, presenting timely, science-based, original articles covering a wide range of preventive medicine and public health topics, along with critical commentaries on the politics and economics of the American healthcare system.