Sports Addicts and Heart Attacks

One of the more comical (albeit nonetheless serious) things I learned in medical school is that during the Super Bowl, people (read: men) who experience pain associated with heart attacks often wait until the end of the game before they go to the ER. The following quote from the Harvard Health Newsletter:

"Another issue is that people who are having heart problems often wait until the game is over before going to the hospital for evaluation. Physicians who work in emergency departments always expect a surge in visits right after the end of the Super Bowl and other huge sporting events. Some of those folks come in with heart attacks that have caused more damage than they should have because they delayed seeking help right away. It’s conceivable that some people don’t reach the hospital alive because they delayed calling 911 while awaiting the outcome of the game."

I see these types of patients everyday. Stubborn middle age to older men who adamantly refuse to come into the hospital until they are knocking on death's door. Sometimes their wives or daughters will be able to pull the old man in by their ear and force them to see the doctor. More often than not, its too late and they realize they should have paid better attention to what their body was saying!! 

Maybe there should be a mandatory commercial during the Super Bowl encouraging people with chest pain to go to the hospital? Or perhaps we should continue to let natural selection take its course? What a silly way to die.