Surprising Things That Put Your Heart at Risk
From traffic to Turkey Day, these circumstances can put your ticker in danger
Age, weight, and a family history are all known risk factors for a heart attack, but there are other, less obvious situations that can put even healthy, fit women in cardiac jeopardy. To help you become more aware of risk factors and when you should seek medical attention, we scoured research and found five surprising times your heart may be in danger.
Waking up is not the best part of the day for most of us, but it’s also not the best part of the day for your heart, according to research published in the Harvard Heart Letter. Before you wake up, stress hormones make their way into the bloodstream, which helps get your butt out of bed, but also stresses your heart. These, as well as the dehydration that occurs overnight (and can be made worse by night-before-drinking) can increase that stress, which research says may be the reason heart attacks often occur in the morning.
Protect your ticker: While we freely admit middle-of the-night pee breaks are a drag, protect your heart by drinking a big glass of water before you hit the sheets.
