Watching a big football match can create problems for people with histories of heart conditions, German researchers reported Wednesday.

They based their findings on an observation of the number of heart-related medical emergencies during the 2006 World Cup of Soccer.

The researchers looked at 4,279 medical records in Bavaria during three periods; when the German team played a match during the Football Association World Cup that was held in Germany from June 9 to July 9, 2006, when only foreign teams were involved and when no matches took place.

After seeing the effects of the matches, the researchers found that German men were three times more likely to have a heart attack on days when their team played. They were at greater risk, suffering heart attacks or cardiac arrhythmia 3.26 as frequently, while the rate for women was 1.82 times as great.

Patients with histories of heart conditions experienced full cardiac arrest, prolonged chest pain, abnormal heart beat and discharge of implantable defibrillators as a result of unusual heart rhythms.

“Viewing a stressful soccer match more than doubles the risk of an acute cardiovascular event,” Dr. Ute Wilbert-Lampen of Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich and colleagues wrote in their report, published in the January 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Six of the seven games in which the German team participated were associated with an increase in the number of cardiac emergencies over the number during the control period. Apparently, of prime importance for triggering a stress-induced event is not the outcome of a game -- a win or a loss -- but rather the intense strain and excitement experienced during the viewing of a dramatic match, such as one with a penalty shoot-out,” the researchers wrote.

Dr. Stephen Siegel, a cardiologist at New York University Medical Center said that fans of soccer or any other sport need to remember that it’s only a game. “It’s a game and it’s great to be involved and excited, it just needs to be toned down. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you,” he advised.

Doctors recommend people with heart troubles to take extra care of themselves during matches, this way avoiding any risk of ending up in the emergency rooms. They recommend patients to take medications as prescribed, to avoid tobacco smoke and fatty meals, to get plenty of sleep the night before, to not over-exert themselves physically, to limit the consumption of alcohol to one drink for a woman and two for a man, and last but not least to not get angry with the refs.

The study received a good welcoming from Dr. Packer Ward of the University of Chicago medical Center.

“We’ve known for long time that emotional stress of many types triggers a hormonal response that can lead to heart attacks, heartbeat arrhythmia and other problems. This [study] is just a natural extension of that,” Dr. Ward told HealthDay.