The holidays are a time for celebrations with loved ones, but the abundance of the season \u2014 excess food, alcohol and stress \u2014 can bring on some serious\u00a0health problems<\/a>, in particular heart trouble, doctors warn.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are eating more, drinking more, they\u2019re not exercising,\u201d said Dr. Tara Narula, a cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and a CBS News medical contributor.<\/p>\n
Such behaviors are risky, especially for people with high blood pressure<\/a>, a major risk factor for heart attack<\/a> and stroke. Studies show heart attack-related deaths are five percent more likely around Christmas and New Year\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The American Heart Association reminds high blood pressure patients to be conscious of their health during the holiday season.<\/p>\n
Ilan Arboleda is one such patient who is trying to keep his blood pressure under control.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve taken the medication, but exercise and diet hasn\u2019t been great. So it\u2019s my responsibility to get that going,\u201d he told CBS News.<\/p>\n
Experts warn that cold weather can also be hard on the heart<\/a>, causing the blood vessels to constrict, which could make someone more prone to heart attack or stroke<\/a>. <\/p>\n
People with high blood pressure should also remember that decongestants can raise blood pressure, so it\u2019s important to be careful with over-the-counter medicines.<\/p>\n
And while people who have risk factors for heart disease are at the highest risk, Narula says everyone can benefit from moderation.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly anyone could be at risk if they\u2019re consuming a lot of alcohol, or eating a ton of salt<\/a>, or under a lot of stress,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Arboleda said he is keeping all of these things in mind this holiday season.<\/p>\n
\u201cPortion control is a major thing for me and making sure I keep moving, that I don\u2019t just sit on the couch and watch football, maybe actually go play football, or go for a run or a walk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Finally, experts warn not to ignore the signs of a heart attack<\/a>, which can include shortness of breath, dizziness, or pain in your chest, arm or neck, and seek medical attention immediately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The holidays are a time for celebrations with loved ones, but the abundance of the season \u2014 excess food, alcohol and stress \u2014 can bring on some serious\u00a0health problems, in particular heart trouble, doctors warn. \u201cPeople are eating more, drinking more, they\u2019re not exercising,\u201d said Dr. Tara Narula, a cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}