Many of us know it can be easy to overindulge at holiday parties, especially when you’re catching up with family and friends, eating all kinds of delicious food, and the alcohol may be flowing freely too.
However, as Dr. Deborah Plate, a family medicine physician with Cleveland Clinic explains, it’s best to keep moderation in mind.
“We can overindulge with lots of goodies that might be different than what we typically do throughout the year. So, a lot of times we will take in quite a bit of salt, quite a bit of sugar, and certainly along with that during the holidays can be overindulging with alcohol,” Plate said. “When all that comes at us, we certainly can at times find that perhaps we don’t feel good, and some folks might realize that they actually have a racing heart, chest discomfort, or shortness of breath.”
Plate said the condition is known as holiday heart syndrome, and it can be caused by too much alcohol and salty foods.
Those with existing heart issues are considered most at risk.
However, anyone can be diagnosed with it.
She said if you do start to experience any of the symptoms she mentioned, like a racing heart, chest discomfort, or shortness of breath, you should stop drinking immediately.
Holiday heart syndrome usually resolves on its own, but if symptoms persist, you should go to the emergency department.
“Things to think about, or look for, are chest discomfort. I don’t always say chest pain because oftentimes it’s pressure or discomfort. So anything that’s different than normal is important,” said Plate. “Heartburn that does not improve with something over-the-counter in the way of an antacid needs to be investigated. Shortness of breath, it’s different than usual. I often talk to my patients about walking across a flat surface and are you short of breath? We all get a little shorter breath with stairs, but a flat surface shortness of breath concerns me.”
She said if you do plan to drink alcohol at a holiday party, be sure to pace yourself and trade off with some water.
You could also eat less during the day so you can eat more at the party or eat right before so you’re less tempted to overindulge.