Holiday Heart Syndrome

What Is Holiday Heart Syndrome?

It is a condition with a short-term abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia). It happens after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Alcohol can lead to atrial fibrillation (AFib) for a day or two after you stop drinking.

Researchers gave this syndrome its name when they saw more AFib cases related to alcohol use during the holiday period.

Alcohol can harm your heart muscle and affect how well it works. Alcohol also makes you urinate more which removes electrolytes from your body. Your heart needs the right amount of electrolytes to work well.

Holiday heart symptoms may include:

• Heart palpitations
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness
• Chest pain.

Several factors contribute to developing this condition:

• Extra alcohol: Drinking five or more beverages that contain alcohol is the main cause of holiday heart syndrome. But this number of beverages could vary from person to person.
• Extra food: Eating a lot of food, especially salty snacks, makes your heart’s job harder.
• Holiday stress: The stress of trying to do so much during the holidays makes more demands on your heart.

 

Risk factors

• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Structural heart disease e.g. valvular heart disease
• Obesity
• > 65 years old
• Male
• Sleep apnoea
• Diabetes

Treatment

If you have an abnormal heart rhythm, the doctor will observe and monitor you. Holiday heart syndrome treatment may include:

Intravenous fluids

Electrolytes and vitamins

Anticoagulants to prevent blood clots that could cause a stroke

Beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers to manage your heart rate

Cardioversion to return your heart to a normal rhythm.

 

Prognosis

Atrial fibrillation from holiday heart syndrome usually goes away within 24 hours of when it starts. But it can come back as much as a year later in some people. Avoid alcohol to reduce your risk of AFib returning.

 

Drinking alcohol over the long term puts you at a higher risk of abnormal heart rhythms and heart muscle issues. You can also get liver disease. Heavy drinking makes it more likely that AFib could progress from a sudden attack to symptoms lasting a week and occurring more frequently.

 

Holiday heart is dangerous because it can lead to life-threatening heart rhythms and strokes. The prognosis with holiday heart syndrome depends on whether you already have a heart condition. If you don’t have a heart problem, your prognosis is good.