The summer vacations are just around the corner and we are looking forward to a long-awaited, stress-free break. However, we hear time and again that stressed managers in particular suffer a heart attack during the vacations. In an interview, Charly Bachmann, HypnoCardio® expert, explains what is true about it and how it can be avoided.
Charly Bachmann, is it true that many people fall ill or even suffer a heart attack while on vacation?
It happens all the time: you’re looking forward to the vacations, and then you might notice shortly beforehand that a cold or even the flu is on its way; you suddenly feel unwell, get a headache, your throat gets scratchy and your nose runs. However, things can actually get worse, as heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases occur more frequently during the first few days of the vacations.
Why is that?
In the case of heart patients, an increased stress load before the start of the vacations is suspected to be the reason. Everything has to be done quickly, nothing can be left undone, deputies have to be organized and projects handed over, and of course there is always something urgent to do that can’t wait. Then the vacations finally begin: Pack quickly, remember everything, don’t forget anything. And then there’s the hustle and bustle and stress until you finally reach your vacation destination! So it’s not the vacations themselves that are dangerous, but the last few stressful days before you really get to take time out.
Who is most at risk?
Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone risks a heart attack at the start of the vacations. Nor does it mean that only stressed managers are affected. Rather, people who already have several risk factors for a heart attack or cardiovascular disease are at risk: Smokers, for example, or people who suffer from psychosocial stress, are overweight, have high cholesterol levels or high blood pressure, do not exercise enough, suffer from diabetes or have a family predisposition.
What can you do to avoid the risk of a heart attack during the vacations if you have risk factors?
Hypnotherapy can help decisively with several of these risk factors. For example, it can help you become a non-smoker once and for all or finally get rid of excess weight. Hypnosis can also significantly reduce stress and anxiety. Hypnotherapy also helps people who have already suffered a heart attack. A large proportion of them suffer from anxiety and depression after their drastic, life-threatening event. So if you want to enjoy your well-deserved vacation without worries, you can use hypnosis or self-hypnosis to reduce stress and relax – and wind down before the vacations.
Charly Bachmann is an OMNI HypnoCardio® expert and certified cardiac therapist SAKR. He has been working exclusively with heart patients for around 20 years, both in his company and at Winterthur Cantonal Hospital.
