Festive celebrations? Keep heart healthy

Mangaluru: With the holiday season kicking in, KMC Hospital here is seeing a slight uptick in holiday heart syndrome (HHS) cases during the weekends.
At least 8–10% of heart-related ailments are HHS cases. Dr Rajesh Bhat U, senior interventional cardiologist, told TOI that HHS is alcohol-induced atrial arrhythmia, which is characterized by acute cardiac rhythm and /or conduction disturbances associated with heavy alcohol consumption in persons without other evidence of heart disease. In simple terms, after a heavy drinking session, the atria (upper chambers of the heart) start beating rapidly at a rate of 200-250 beats/minute, and the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart) also beat rapidly at a rate of 150 plus per minute. As a result, the heart will be underfilled and will not be able to pump.