Page 60 - BH-2-3

Brain & Heart

PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE
Die-hard soccer fandom: A new cardiovascular

risk factor

Juan E. Puche*
Department of Cardiology, Quirónsalud Málaga Hospital, Málaga, Spain

Abstract

The relationship between the mind and the heart has been the subject of admiration
for millennia. As early as 1500 BC, in the famous Ebers Papyrus, functions such as
intelligence, thought, and moral conscience were attributed to the heart. While
modern science later reassigned these functions to the brain, recent studies have
partially vindicated the ancient Egyptians by discovering neural networks in the heart
capable of learning, feeling, and perceiving autonomously, establishing a heartbrain
dialog that remains largely unexplored. From the perspective of sports cardiology,
recent publications have highlighted the potential cardiovascular risks associated
with emotionally charged matches during events like the World Cup, particularly for
fans of teams experiencing defeat. This paper presents a personal opinion based on
years of research on this subject.

Keywords: Soccer; Cardiovascular risk factors; Acute coronary syndrome; Hostility;
Cardiopsychology

*Corresponding author:
Juan E. Puche 1. Introduction
(juan.puche.co@quironsalud.es) “A heart-stopping match this weekend!”
Citation: Puche JE.
Die-hard soccer fandom: A Beyond being a typical headline in the sports press or a conversation starter, this
new cardiovascular risk factor. phrase reflects a reality for many spectators of emotionally charged sports (cricket,
Brain & Heart. 2024;2(3):3200. curling, and chess enthusiasts can breathe a sigh of relief). Over the past 25 years,
doi: 10.36922/bh.3200
numerous scientific articles have highlighted the relationship between competitive
Received: March 18, 2024 sports and cardiovascular events, focusing not on the athletes but on the fans. This new
Accepted: May 31, 2024 approach is striking because the incidence of heart attacks is higher among fans than
among players.
Published Online: August 5, 2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). 2. Concurrence of cardiovascular events relationship and relevant
This is an Open-Access article soccer games
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution The most relevant data comes from the soccer World Cups and national derbies. In almost
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, all the World Cups, an increase in emergency room visits for cardiovascular causes, heart
provided the original work is attacks, and even cardiovascular deaths has been observed. This phenomenon is most
properly cited. pronounced in finals decided by penalties and predominantly affects supporters of the
1-6
Publisher’s Note: AccScience losing team (as the saying goes, misfortune never comes alone). An illustrative example
Publishing remains neutral with is the penalty taken by “Crazy” Abreu during Uruguay’s 2010 World Cup quarter-final
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional match, 40 years after their past semi-final appearance, decided by a penalty shootout.
affiliations. He was the last one to take the spot kick and had the chance to secure victory for his

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/bh.3200