Just how serious is  Super Bowl XLV? It may be serious enough to cause a heart attack. A new study published in Clinical Cardiology, suggests that a loss in the Super Bowl is associated with increased heart related death rates for men and women and in older fans as well. Check out the details after the jump!
[BR]- Some sports fans may get heavily emotionally involved when rooting for their favorite team during the big game, and if that team loses, stress levels can soar, researchers say.
Researchers led by Robert A. Kloner, MD,  PhD, examined data on death rates for L.A. County around the time of the Rams loss in the  1980 Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Raiders win over the Washington Redskins in 1984.
The 1980 loss by the Rams was associated with an increase in total heart-related deaths in men and women in Los Angeles County on the day of the Super Bowl loss and for the two weeks following the loss.
The increased risk of death was more pronounced in people aged 65 and older.
“Physicians and patients should be aware that stressful games might elicit an emotional response that could trigger a cardiac event,†Kloner said in the news release.
When the Raiders won in 1984 there was no increase in total death rates.
Super Bowl XIV was full of excitement and had constant lead changes which made the game itself more intense and for a die-hard fan of the  L.A. Rams, it meant more because it was in Pasadena, CA and the team had established in L.A. since 1946.
While this study doesn’t actually prove that a Super Bowl loss can cause heart problems—it could be more of a coincidence, it’s difficult to argue that when your team takes the field during the Super Bowl there aren’t strong emotions being displayed.
Many fans wear their emotions on their sleeve during the National Football League season and the heartache that is felt when a loss occurs can stay with you for not only hours but days.
