Dr. John Day, Cardiologist

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Could Using This Word on Twitter Cause a Heart Attack?

What you say on Facebook and Twitter better predicts your heart attack risk than smoking, diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure based on the findings of this new study from the University of Pennsylvania.  Researchers also found that using just one word in a Tweet can predict with great accuracy who will die from a heart attack.  Just what is the most dangerous word to use in a Tweet?

Tweets and Heart Attacks

As soon as this medical study was published it instantly hit news media outlets across the world.  Many news reports, like this one, reported on the findings of this study.

In this study, researchers analyzed 140 million Tweets across the U.S. What they found is really quite alarming. In those U.S. counties where people Tweet their anger or frustrations are the same counties where people have heart attacks.  In other words, people that Tweeted negative emotions died from heart attacks.

And just what is the most dangerous word to use in a Tweet when it comes to your risk of a heart attack? Would it surprise you that the most dangerous word to Tweet, according to this study, is the word “hate?”

Other dangerous emotions to Tweet about are fatigue and anger. In contrast, places in the U.S. that Tweeted about their optimism on life and positive relationships with family and friends tended not to have heart attacks.

Dr. Day’s Take on this Study

1. Facebook or Twitter could give us a “big picture” look at the general health of a person.

We know from many studies that optimistic and grateful people can avoid heart problems. Likewise, people who dwell on the negative tend to die young and sick.  Social media posts could literally be a “window to the soul” of a person.

2. Should cardiologists now start reviewing what patients say on Facebook and Twitter?

In addition to reviewing the blood pressure logs of my patients, should I also start reviewing all of their Facebook posts and Tweets?  Would this be more helpful to me than ordering a stress test for my patients? Perhaps some clever young entrepreneur will create an iPhone or Android app that could quickly calculate a heart attack risk score by analyzing every Facebook post and Tweet from their social media accounts.

3. We should take a look at our own Facebook posts and Tweets.

This study should really be a wake up call for each of us.  I know it was for me.

What do we write about in our own Facebook posts and Tweets?  Also, the findings of this study apply not just to social media but also to what we talk about at work, home, or even on the telephone.  If we can learn to focus on the positive when interacting with others our health and our hearts will get better.

4. Interpret this study with caution.

While the findings of this study are very interesting and certainly grab media headlines, we need to be careful when interpreting the data. For example, in my cardiology practice, the people who are Tweeting are generally not the people having heart attacks.

5. This is a classic chicken vs. the egg type study.

The question I have when I read studies like this is do sick people Tweet negative emotions or do people who dwell on negative emotions in their Tweets get sick? I suspect both are probably true.

Do you keep your conversations, Facebook posts, and Tweets positive???