That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday morning and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.
The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 percent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 percent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8a.m on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewest heart attacks in both countries.
The finding could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr. Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol(胆固醇)but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them.” he said.
Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity and from the relaxing weekend to the pressure of work.
“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal(内分泌)changes in their bodies.” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavorable effect on the blood system and increase the risk of a clot(血凝块)which will cause a heart attack.”
“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activities.” said Willich.“Monday morning feeling ”, as this passage shows, .
A.is not as serious as people thought |
B.is the first killer in Germany and Italy |
C.is created by researchers in Germany and Italy |
D.is harmful to working people in developed countries |
To protect people from a heart attack, doctors have paid much attention to .
A.people’s working time | B.people’s living place |
C.people’s lifestyle | D.people’s nationalities |
It can be learned from this passage that the heart attack has something to do with all the following EXCEPT .
A.blood pressure | B.heart rate |
C.hormonal changes | D.blood type |
If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be?
A.Improving working conditions | B.Never go to work on Mondays |
C.Stay with a doctor on Monday. | D.Get up late on Monday morning |