It became known on what day of the week heart attacks most often occur

Researchers from the Dresden Heart Center have confirmed what many only guessed: Monday is a hard day. And it is on Mondays that myocardial infarctions occur most often. Well, from their point of view, the calmest day of the week is Sunday. The results of the German study were published in The Lancet. What could be causing such fluctuations? Are these observations confirmed by the practice of Russian doctors? MK found out about this.

Monday is considered the most melancholic and depressive day of the week. And the third Monday of January in the world was even nicknamed “Sad Monday” and, without any scientific basis, it was recognized as the saddest day of the year.

But Mondays are also dangerous, as the likelihood of fatal heart attacks at the beginning of the work week is higher than at any other time. This was shown by a new scientific study by German scientists, which was published in the authoritative medical journal The Lancet. They found that the risk of a heart attack on Monday is significantly higher than on other days of the week: 17% of all heart attacks occur on the first day of the week. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, etc., the risks do not exceed 15%, and on weekends they drop to 11-12%. Perhaps the stress that accompanies the start of the work week plays a major role in this.

In addition, the study revealed high risks of heart attack on the first and last days of vacation. These days, the usual way of life is changing, which is also stressful for the body.

Scientists also came to an interesting conclusion by analyzing at what hours heart attacks are most likely. And if until now there was an opinion that heart attacks most often occur early in the morning, then this study found that this is not so: the risk of heart attacks in the morning is lowest. But most often vascular events occur in the second half of the day, or more precisely, in the period from 12 to 18 hours.

By the way, this is not the first study with similar conclusions. Back in the summer of 2023, at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester, data from doctors from the Belfast Health and Social Care Foundation and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland were presented that serious heart attacks are most likely to occur on Mondays. They looked at the records of 10,528 patients admitted to hospitals between 2013 and 2018 for the most severe type of heart attack, known as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (when the main coronary artery supplying the heart becomes completely blocked). It turned out that at the beginning of the work week there is a noticeable increase in the frequency of heart attacks with elevation of the ST segment, with the highest rate just on Monday (an increase of 13%). On Sundays, by the way, there were also higher than expected rates of such hospitalizations.

And in 2017, scientists from Sweden came to similar conclusions: they analyzed data from more than 156,000 hospitalizations for heart attacks over seven years. And they found that most heart attacks occurred on Mondays, and the fewest on Saturdays. In fact, the risk of a heart attack was 11% higher on Mondays than on control days, which the researchers defined as Tuesday through Friday. Young working people were found to be most vulnerable to Monday’s rise – they were 20% more likely to have a heart attack on the first day of the working week.

The exact cause of the Monday effect is not yet known. Previous studies showing a greater likelihood of heart attacks earlier in the week have suggested a link to the body’s circadian rhythm, which governs our sleep-wake cycles. “This is likely due to the stress associated with returning to work. Increased stress leads to higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is associated with a higher risk of heart attack,” said cardiologist Dr Jack Laffan, who led the study at the Belfast Health and Social Care Foundation.

Swedish scientists suggested that it was also due to higher levels of stress associated with returning to work on Monday. And it’s possible that stress can cause changes in your biological system that could make you vulnerable to a heart attack. It’s also possible that Monday’s spike in cases could be caused by delays in seeking medical attention over the weekend.

“We know that heart attacks are more common in the winter and early morning. The same effect is observed in the incidence of strokes. Previous studies have also shown higher rates of heart attacks in the days following daylight saving time. The exact mechanism behind these changes is unknown, but we suspect it has something to do with the way the circadian rhythm affects circulating hormones, which may influence heart attacks and strokes,” says Jack Laffan.

As Mehman Mamedov, head of the secondary prevention department of the National Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine of the Russian Ministry of Health, told the MK observer, on Mondays hospitalizations of patients with myocardial infarction actually become more frequent: “Theoretically, it can be assumed that the accumulation effect may play a role. Myocardial infarction can occur within 24 hours; the factor of individual characteristics must always be taken into account. But I still recommended not linking heart attack incidents to the time of day. For example, in our practice, we see a higher number of hospitalizations in the morning and evening hours.”

Professor Mamedov notes that there are generally no statistics on vacation days and their connection with heart attack incidents: “However, the material published in The Lancet may be the subject of further analysis. Still, it is premature to accept these conclusions for clinical practice.”

As for the possibility of preventing heart attacks, nothing has changed. Try to avoid chronic stress. Proven methods of reducing stress – exercise, deep breathing, or even watching a funny movie – can reduce the activity of inflammatory processes in the body, and therefore vascular accidents. Also avoid extreme physical activity. Don’t neglect medical examination. Watch your weight, eat right, move more and avoid bad habits. If you follow all of these tips, you can reduce your risk of heart attacks by 80%.