Is it possible to die of a heart attack while playing horror video games?

I recently played ancient ring… Yes, I know it’s not horror, but I’m right. The situation was as follows: while fighting with one of the bosses of the game, I suddenly became aware of my own body. Very rarely have I felt my heart beat with such force and speed, with a terrifying heat that spread through my chest.

Of course, like any other Generation Z After graduating from Google, I wondered if I was going to have a heart attack. After all, the sensations were quite strong. I understand how dramatic this sounds, so after a while I asked myself: Can someone die playing video games? Horror movies caught my attention. And this is what they certainly change most of the population of the country the most. gamers.

Fortunately, it seems that my dramas were not groundless. A recent study published in health line make sure yes. Indeed, playing video games with a high content of violence, horror or intense action can lead you to a fatal fate. But how do you know if you are in danger?

Have you heard of the fight or flight instinct? This is natural for all animals. Of course, it does not activate as a superpower, it is an innate response to threats that are in the environment, and this forces us to make a decision. fight for our survival or run away from the threat.

These situations cause our brains to be bombarded with massive amounts of dopamine and adrenaline, two neurotransmitters that play an important role in the flight or fight instinct. A) Yes, you momentarily become a kind of “super” version yourself, with muscles full of oxygen, ready to throw some good punches or run at full speed.

Yes, this instinct has evolved to help us escape or fend off predators and threats. However, today it works when we have to speak out loud – if you are an introvert – or when you play a horror or action video game.

Stress is bad for the heart, even that caused by video games.

Needless to say, constantly going into fight-or-flight mode isn’t good for your heart. This is the answer that causes stress throughout our body. But don’t worry too much, you definitely won’t die from it.

Of course, over the years there have been confirmed cases of people going to extremes because of video games. Cases like fainting after heavy gaming sessions were observed in children aged 10 years after intensive games in Fortnite. The same phenomenon was repeated in other young people aged 15 and 11 years. health line.

Cause? Well, we have already told you. Stress is no good for anyone, and video game stress is no exception. stress is stressand the body does not care too much about the causes of it, so long as the feeling remains the same.

Electronic games have been shown to significantly increase participants’ heart rates. Mental stress and increased emotionality have been shown to shorten the ventricular action potential and are known triggers of cardiac arrhythmias, especially long QT syndrome.

I study in New England Journal of Medicine

Of course, gamers didn’t pass out solely due to exposure to video games. During these sessions had abnormal heart beatssuch as arrhythmia, fibrillation, bradycardia or tachycardia.

So will I die or not?

While video games have shown various benefits to our psyches, such as helping you figure out what you’re good at or developing better reflexes, there’s always the fine print. Are you going to die of a heart attack while playing video games? Not really.

The results of the study clarify one thing. If you are suffering from any abnormality in your heart, such as those mentioned above, you are at increased risk of harm from playing video games, which can change your heart rate. For this reason, before exposing yourself to situations that may seem too intense for you, you should first contact a healthcare professional.

After all, conditions such as arrhythmias are estimated at 1.5% to 5% population. In many cases, those affected are not even aware of their condition, which can be very dangerous even if you don’t normally play horror or action video games.

If you do not have existing conditions, then you can continue with your masochistic addiction to scare yourself on purpose. After all, there is nothing more fun than being scared of polygons and pixels under the astonished glances of others.