Super Bowl loss increases cardiac death rates

A new study has revealed that Super Bowl loss for a home team is likely to increase death rates in older men and women.

Led by Robert A Kloner of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, researchers assessed how often this emotional stress may translate to increases in cardiac death.

They ran regression models for mortality rates for cardiac causes for the 1980 Los Angeles Super Bowl loss and for the 1984 Los Angeles Super Bowl win.

Results showed that the Los Angeles Super Bowl loss of 1980 increased total and cardiac deaths in both men and women and triggered more death in older than younger patients.

In contrast, there was a trend for a Super Bowl win to reduce death more frequently in older people and in women.

Specifically, in men there was a 15% increase in all circulatory deaths associated with the Super Bowl loss; in women there was a 27% increase in all circulatory deaths associated with the loss.

Thus, unlike previous reports from some soccer games, the findings were not confined mainly to male fans, but also were seen in women.

In older patients, there was a 22% increase in circulatory deaths associated with the Super Bowl loss.

"Physicians and patients should be aware that stressful games might elicit an emotional response that could trigger a cardiac event," said Kloner.