You need to go under the knife. Eish !

Any kind of surgery is risky. Sometimes you get to decide the details, more often than not – it is DO or DIE.

When you get to “choose” – the WHEN is a critical factor. Ideally you try to fit it in to your schedule, working around family and work commitments. But research from Rhode Island Hospital suggests if you’re having cardiac surgery, then you need to be considering what the moon is up to.

Going under the knife

The research team followed the progress of patients who underwent aortic dissection surgery at two hospitals in Rhode Island, over a period of 15 years.

In total 210 people underwent the procedure.

The team analysed the data looking for factors which contributed to the success or failure of the procedure. Failure was defined as, you were slow to leave the hospital or you left the hospital in a body bag.

In this study, 38 people never left the hospital. Heart disease KILLS.

Heart attacks happen…

The team identified all the usual risk factors…

Being older and/or being a diabetic, upped the chances you never went home or went home after a longish stay in hospital. More heart attacks happened in winter, so more patients underwent cardiac surgeries in the winter months, but winter surgeries were no more dangerous than summer ones.

Mooning about

In the number crunching, they categorized the surgeries according to what the moon was up to i.e. the lunar cycle.

• New moon = day 1 – 7
• Waxing moon = day 8-14
• Full moon = day 15 – 21
• Waning moon = day 22 – 29

The team discovered the moon’s behaviour was a risk factor.

Full moon surgery was a winner.

New moon surgery was a killer.

Okay, I am being a bit melodramatic. Hey, winner and killer rhyme – I couldn’t resist. But rhymes aside, the size of the moon did impact the overall success of the procedure.

A bigger moon was better.

All the better to see you with

The full moon can light up the sky, but improved lighting is unlikely to explain the full moon effect, since surgery is not done in the moonlight.

Probably got something to do with gravity.

Remember, the moon’s gravity is responsible for ocean tides. Maybe the moon’s gravity is also able to improve blood flow…..

Fix the plumbing under the moon

The point……. if you’re planning heart surgery, particularly aortic dissection, make sure when you check in, the moon is close to being full.

The phase of the moon might just be your lucky charm.

PS. You might also want to

• Ensure you’re vitamin D sufficient
• You have a pack of chewing gum handy, for after the surgery.

Further reading

Insulin steers the assembly of killer blood clots	Should you feed a heart attack a high fat meal ?	How to juice up the heart battery so it pumps in a crisis

So dancing under the full moon helps broken hearts. What else helps ?

For more Tips & Strategies to overcome the bad body chemistry driving your heart problems, sign up for…

Did you learn something new or do you have a different perspective ? I’d love to hear from you so post me a comment below