Soccer... bad for your heart - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Snibble · #1 12-20-2002, 01:12 AM

Quote:

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have found medical evidence of something every football fan already knows -- penalty shoot-outs are literally heart-stoppers.

The British Medical Journal said that researchers who studied England's 1998 World Cup soccer matches found that heart attacks increased by 25 percent when England lost to Argentina after a gripping penalty shoot-out.

"These findings support the view that heart attacks can be triggered by emotional upset, such as watching your football team lose an important match -- particularly those in which there is a penalty shoot-out," the journal said in a statement.

Researchers from the University of Bristol and University of Birmingham said that football fans would have experienced a fair amount of tension before and during the England-Argentina match -- both because matches between the two countries always produced intense rivalry and it was a shoot-out.

The researchers examined hospital admissions for heart attack, stroke, deliberate self-harm and road traffic injuries on the day of and five days after, England's World Cup matches, compared with admissions at the same time in previous and following years and in the month before the tournament.

They found that the risk of admission for heart attacks increased by 25 percent on June 30 -- the day of the England-Argentina match -- and the following two days. Admissions were higher among men than women.

But no extra admissions were noted for any of the other medical conditions.

The researchers suggested that, in the interests of public health, the penalty shoot-out should be abandoned.

maximus · #2 12-20-2002, 07:45 AM

Those researchers have nothing better to do they should spend their time trying to find a cure for AIDS

Lebenz · #3 12-20-2002, 11:04 AM

I would suggest that this is just more evidence of too many folks sitting on their fat a$$es spending their lives watching useless shows on TV. Think about if these folks actually got some exercise. No more heart attacks. Okay, well maybe just fewer heart attacks.....

G-Benz · #4 12-20-2002, 11:16 AM

I know studies show that Cub fans live longer...

Snibble · #5 12-20-2002, 12:04 PM

Yea.. I was going to say another scientist that has nothing better to do. I also think he's a moron for even saying that shoot-outs should be banned! Come on, THATS THE BEST PART OF THE GAME.. if you're a soccer fan.

Kuan · #6 12-20-2002, 07:47 PM

Tell me about it! Last year my girls had a shootout to decide who would go to the final. Man I couldn't watch. Just too much stress!

Kuan