It’s not the chill of winter that causes a spike in heart-related deaths at Christmas and New Year’s — it’s the holiday season itself, Australian researchers contend. In New Zealand, where December and January are the height of summer, researchers found more than a 4 percent increase in heart-related deaths from Dec. 25 through Jan. 7. The Christmas effect that has been seen in the northern hemisphere winter is able to be seen during the summer also. This means that there is a risk associated with the holiday period independent of the seasonality. Exactly why the holidays are linked with a boost in heart-related deaths is open to debate.
Is Season the Reason Why Heart Deaths Spike at Christmas?
