7 Healthcast: Holiday heart attacks

"What we see is an increase in heart-related deaths," said cardiologist Dr. Rafic Berbarie.

Researchers have actually found that Christmas, the day after Christmas, and New Year's Day are the most deadly when it comes to heart attacks. One theory why:

"The emotional stress, the highs and lows and the pressures that we all experience during the holiday season," Dr. Berbarie said.

A high-fat feast can also affect your heart within 30 minutes of eating.

"This does for some reason affect the artery linings of the heart arteries," Dr. Berbarie said.

Other factors that may increase your risk include forgetting to take medications, getting less exercise than usual, even ignoring heart attack symptoms.

"They may delay seeking medical care that they normally would seek immediately in order to enjoy more time with their family," Dr. Berbarie said.

Staying healthy over the holidays may be as simple as common sense, self-control, and calming down.

"I don't want to see you during the holidays," Dr. Berbarie said. "I'm going to have enough patients to see already I'm sure."

Cold weather can also cause arteries to constrict, which makes your heart work harder. It's all the more reason to try to stay calm and eat healthy this holiday season.

(Copyright 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)