On Wednesday, the New York Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs in the last seconds of the game, the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.
This stunning achievement was thrilling for fans to watch — and stressful. For passionate fans, the rollercoaster of a close sports game can wreak havoc on your blood pressure and heart. That’s when the emotional anguish and electric atmosphere of watching a a nail-biting game, or “fanxiety,” can feel all too real.
In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults, and multiple studies have found that cardiac events spike during and right after major sports games.
A 2022 study published in Current Problems in Cardiology reviewed cardiovascular studies related to watching sports and found that die-hard soccer, rugby, football and baseball fans had higher risks of dying from a cardiovascular event, particularly when fans watched close games of the final stages of competitions. The risk was higher with people who had a history of coronary artery disease.
Games are less stressful when there’s a wide lead. But “when the game is decided in the last stages of the competition, in the last minute, or in the last quarter … that’s when you see the most triggers,” Houston Methodist cardiologist Dr. Miguel Maturana, the lead author of the study, told HuffPost.
“Particularly, the games associated with the final stages of the competitions, no matter in which kind of sport, they tend to be associated with stronger emotions, and those fans are at higher risk,” he said.
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Watching the Knicks battle against the Spurs can be stressful to watch on-screen and for your heart.
For die-hards, a close sports game can come with big risks.
“‘Half-hearted’ spectatorship may be better for cardiovascular health than fanatical spectatorship,” the study concluded.
“We see that the emergency rooms close to the stadium, they get packed,” Maturana said. Fans “get to the hospital with a variety of different presentations, including high blood pressure, strokes, myocardial infarctions, tachycardias, atrial fibrillations or sudden cardiac death.”
Emotional games peak our stress, releasing adrenaline and other hormones into the bloodstream that increase your heart rate and blood pressure, Maturana explained. This hormone surge redirects blood away from other parts of your body, and can lead to a stroke if there is already plaque building up in your arteries.
“When our adrenaline is pumping, it’s demanding more of our hearts, and a heart that is vulnerable is going to be more susceptible to adverse effects of those sudden excess demands,” said Dr. Matthew Tomey, a cardiologist at New York’s Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital.
“The basis of most heart attacks … is that a preexisting cholesterol plaque in one of our arteries effectively bursts, and there can be a variety of triggering factors for that, but among them include stressful events,” Tomey explained.
Additionally, fans often watch sports games while eating salty foods like hot dogs and pretzels at stadiums, and drinking lots of alcohol, which can both impair healthy heart function, Maturana noted.
But keep this cardiac risk in perspective. Many sports fans can endure stressful, emotional games and be alright.
“This is not something fans should be scared of,” Maturana said. “But it’s something to keep in mind,” especially if you have a history of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, or you’ve had a stroke in the past. “It’s better to be aware that you know these things can happen,” he said.
Beyond the NBA Finals, Maturana said he expects to see this spike in cardiac-related emergency room visits to happen again during the World Cup this summer. “This is something that, for sure, we will be seeing,” he said.
A 2022 study found that the number of hospital admissions for cardiovascular concerns in Croatia spiked 15% during and just after Croatia played World Cup soccer matches.
Cardiologists say the best advice is to watch games with someone else — and check your heart.
A die-hard fan is unlikely to believe that a game is just a game. But it would help if you could be as committed to your heart health as you are to your team.
“For generations, we’ve been on defense with heart disease. We’re reacting to cardiac events. Now is the season for us to go on offense and promote cardiovascular health, and that starts with awareness,” Tomey said.
Ideally, go to your doctor before the big game to assess your cardiovascular health and risks.
“There are all too many people that really have an incomplete understanding of their cardiovascular health,” Tomey said. “Take this opportunity to speak with your doctor about, well, ‘What is the status of my heart health? Are there opportunities for me to make myself safer?’”
Adam Gray via Getty Images
If you’re going to feel the adrenaline of watching your team play, ideally do it with friends and family. Above, fans watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
And during the game, one of the best things you can do is to be surrounded by people who can keep an eye on you. “It is much riskier to have a cardiac event by yourself at home than in the company of friends,” Tomey said. That way, someone can notice your heart attack symptoms and call 911 right away if necessary.
Know that symptoms before a major cardiac event can vary but often include discomfort in your chest. “Sometimes it’s not really even a pain per se, but somebody feels out of breath more than usual,” Tomey said, noting that sometimes, this pain can also appear in the shoulder or arm, and symptoms can also include nausea or indigestion.
In general, if you’re feeling excitement or stress watching the game and you experience a “new uncomfortable feeling in or around the chest –– that warrants attention,” Tomey said.
Maturana said a die-hard fan is unlikely to meditate and watch a game half-heartedly, but they can at least make sure to watch the stressful game with other friends and family who can monitor their symptoms and make sure they take any related medications. Fans should “check on their dad, check on their mom” during the game, he said, and ask how they are feeling.
Learning how to manage stress takes time, but it can be worth it to know you did all you could to prepare your body and mind before game day.
Take it from Knicks guard Jalen Brunson on how he manages the tremendous pressure to deliver a championship title for his team.
As Brunson put it, “It’s all about being able to say you gave it everything you got,” he said. “Go out there, put all the preparation and the work in, do everything you can, and you live with the results.”
