Major sporting events such as a soccer World Cup sweep millions of people away – and the increased collective stress level can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems. This is suggested by a study according to which more people with heart attacks were hospitalized during the 2014 World Cup than during the same period in 2013 and 2015. The mortality of the patients, however, did not differ – with one exception: on the day of the final when Germany scored the decisive goal for the world championship in extra time, an above-average number of heart attack patients died.
On July 13, 2014, 34.5 million people in Germany watched the final of the soccer World Cup in Brazil. It wasn’t until seven minutes before the end of extra time that the decisive goal fell, making it 1-0 for Germany. The exciting game was not only a challenge for the national team, but also for the cardiovascular system of the spectators. It has long been known that collective stress, for example from natural disasters, terrorism or war, increases the number of heart attacks. Whether this also applies to major sporting events has so far been controversial.
Soccer World Cup as a risk factor
A team led by Karsten Keller from the Mainz University Medical Center has now analyzed how many people were hospitalized with a heart attack during the 2014 World Cup and how many of them died. As a comparison, the researchers used the same period in the previous and following year, ie June 12 to July 13, 2013 and 2015, as well as the following month in the same year, July 14 to August 14, 2014. “The total number of heart attack patients was significantly higher during the soccer World Cup in 2014 than during the comparison periods, ”report the researchers.
During the World Cup, 18,479 patients with heart attacks were hospitalized in Germany – 2.1 percent more than in 2013, 3.7 percent more than 2015 and 5.4 percent more than in the month after the World Cup. The composition of the patients in the various periods did not differ in terms of age, gender or risk factors. The average age was 71 to 72 years, around two thirds of the patients were male. The treatment methods used changed over the years, but were not fundamentally different during the World Cup than before or after. The weather conditions were also similar.
More heart deaths at the World Cup final
In terms of patient mortality, the researchers found no differences between the WM and the comparison periods. The exception: “During the final between Germany and Argentina, the mortality rate was the highest at twelve percent,” said the researchers. On that day, 144 people died as a result of a heart attack. On the previous match days, the mortality rate was between 7.9 and 9.3 percent.
In addition, Keller and his colleagues analyzed the extent to which the course of the game had an influence on the heart attack rate. In three of seven games, the German national team scored a goal in the first half. The timing of shots on goal – whether early or late in the game – had no effect on how many patients had a heart attack on that day. Which teams played also had no significant influence. The only exception was the World Cup final with the participation of the German team. The treatment of the patients did not differ depending on whether Germany was playing on the day or not.
Plan hospital capacities
“Major sporting events can increase the incidence of heart attacks and the associated mortality,” the authors summarize. “Heart attacks are responsible for around 20 percent of all deaths in Europe and the USA. It is therefore particularly important to identify possible triggers. ”Even if the data evaluated in the study do not indicate that the treatment of heart attack patients was worse during World Cup match days, the researchers believe that knowledge of sporting events as a risk factor can help to optimize the processes accordingly. “Our data can help to better plan hospital capacities and thus to be able to provide sufficient capacity at the right time,” said Keller and his colleagues.
Source: Karsten Keller (Universitätsmedizin Mainz) et al., Scientific Reports, doi: 10.1038 / s41598-021-90582-z