Mondays are usually days of boredom. The weekend is over and it's time to get back to work. To capture this feeling of sadness, 'Blue Monday' was created, which is celebrated every third Monday in January and which is described, without much scientific evidence, as the saddest day of the year.
As well as being the day to return to ordinary life, Mondays are also 'dangerous', as fatal heart attacks are more likely to occur at the start of the working week than at any other time, according to a study by Belfast researchers. Health and Social Care Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.
In their work, presented at the British Cardiovascular Society congress held in Manchester (United Kingdom), these doctors analyzed the data of 10,528 patients from all over the island of Ireland (7,112 in the Republic of Ireland, 3,416 in Northern Ireland) admitted to in the hospital between 2013 and 2018 with the most serious type of heart attack, known as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and occurs when a major coronary artery is completely blocked.
STEMI requires urgent evaluation and treatment to minimize damage to the heart, and is usually performed by emergency angioplasty, a procedure to reopen a blocked coronary artery.
The researchers found a spike in STEMI heart attack rates at the beginning of the work week, with higher rates on Mondays. Higher-than-expected rates were also recorded on Sundays.
To date, scientists have not been able to explain why this phenomenon occurs. Previous studies suggest that heart attacks are more likely on Mondays, and have highlighted an association with the circadian rhythm, that is, the body's sleep or wake cycle.
"We have found a strong statistical correlation between the start of the workweek and the incidence of STEMI. This has been described before, but remains a curiosity. The cause is likely multifactorial; however, based on what we know of In previous studies, it is reasonable to assume a circadian element," said cardiologist Jack Laffan, who led the research at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
The medical director of the British Heart Foundation, Nilesh Samani, recalled that in countries like the United Kingdom every five minutes a person is admitted to hospital due to a life-threatening heart attack, so "it is vital that research continue to shed light on how and why heart attacks occur.
"This study adds to the evidence about when especially severe heart attacks occur, but now we need to unravel what it is about certain days of the week that make them more likely. This could help doctors better understand this disease." deadly in order to save more lives in the future", the researcher stressed.
