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Clock Switch May Be Good for Ticker

Heart attacks dip after clocks fall back

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 30, 2008 5:30 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Does turning clocks back in the autumn and forward in spring affect the risk of heart attack? New research suggests it may. Scientists found a 5% drop in heart attacks the day after clocks are changed in the fall, but discovered a 5% increase when clocks are moved ahead in spring, reports the Los Angeles Times. Researchers theorize that the extra hour of sleep in the autumn does the heart good, but the loss of an hour may stress the heart.

Researchers say heart attacks dip after clocks go back an hour in the Fall and increase after clocks go forward in Spring.
Researchers say heart attacks dip after clocks go back an hour in the Fall and increase after clocks go forward in Spring.   (Getty Images)
Researchers say heart attacks dip after clocks go back an hour in the Fall - and increase after the clocks go forward an hour in Spring.
Researchers say heart attacks dip after clocks go back an hour in the Fall - and increase after the clocks go forward an hour in Spring.   (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Dubois County Court House custodian Bill Loveall, 63, in the clock tower of the court house in Jasper, Indiana. Researchers say heart attacks dip after clocks go back an hour in the Fall.
Dubois County Court House custodian Bill Loveall, 63, in the clock tower of the court house in Jasper, Indiana. Researchers say heart attacks dip after clocks go back an hour in the Fall.   (AP Photo/ Daniel R. Patmore)
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Heart attack risk shifted by daylight saving time
Reuters

Shifts to and from Daylight Saving Time and Incidence of Myocardial Infarction
New England Journal of Medicine

 
sleep • heart attack • Daylight Saving Time • clocks • American College of Cardiology • Fall • Spring • National Board of Health and Welfare • Swedish Myocardial Infarction Register

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