Studies show women are most at risk of heart failure during these tense matches, especially if they're made to feel stressed or angry, while men were susceptible to arrhythmias - an irregular heartbeat. Photo / Getty Images
Studies show women are most at risk of heart failure during these tense matches, especially if they're made to feel stressed or angry, while men were susceptible to arrhythmias - an irregular heartbeat. Photo / Getty Images
Cardiologist says potential for nailbiting final shouldn’t put off fans with dicky tickers.
Enjoy the game - but don't forget your pills. That's the advice of a specialist who will be reviewing hospital admission data to see if Sunday's Rugby World Cup final might prove too heart-wrenching for some fans with sensitive tickers.
But Dr John Elliott, an interventional cardiologist at Christchurch Hospital, said no one should be put off watching the big game, however nail-biting it turns out to be.
Dr John Elliott, an interventional cardiologist at Christchurch Hospital, said no one should be put off watching the big game, however nail-biting it turns out to be.
"People should continue to have a usual amount of food and fluid around the time, but the most important thing is not forgetting to take regular medication, which can be easy to do when you've got other things on your mind."
For those who suffered from angina, he said, it would be worth having someone nearby, while mixing excessive alcohol with the rugby was a definite no-no for people with heart problems.
Dr Elliott, also an associate professor at Otago University's department of medicine, was part of a team that looked at hospital data recorded during the past four World Cup tournaments to study the risk of heart failure for spectators during knock-out rounds.
They found women are most at risk of heart failure during these tense matches, especially if they're made to feel stressed or angry, while men were susceptible to arrhythmias - an irregular heartbeat.
This time, the team first hoped to compare this data with a focus group of patients whose heart rates were recorded as they watched the game, but the researchers failed to get Ethics Committee approval in time.
"But I think the fact that the All Blacks have got so far means it's certainly worth us doing the admissions study again ... we would be trying to start the analysis in about six months."
Meanwhile, University of Auckland psychology professor Will Hayward urged All Blacks fans not to get anxious about the game's outcome, but just enjoy the moment. "If you spend all of your time worrying about what the result is going to be, then you run the risk of losing your enjoyment of the whole thing."
University of Auckland psychology professor Will Hayward urged All Blacks fans not to get anxious about the game's outcome, but just enjoy the moment.
When the All Blacks were trailing South Africa at half-time in last weekend's semifinals, Professor Hayward admitted to being "a bit down". But then he gave himself some optimism that the match would turn around in the next 10 minutes, which it did.
"What I'd say to people is just take a step back: enjoy the lead-up, enjoy the pre-match stuff and then just enjoy the spectacle as it unfolds."
And if the unthinkable happened, he said, life would always go on. "If we lose in the final, we'll lose against a team that everyone at least kind of respects ... I don't think there will be the shock there was around those losses in 1999, 2003 and 2007."
