In the spirit of all the haunted houses, pranks, and shenanigans that surround Halloween, I thought it would be appropriate to write a piece on the common thought that being “scared to death” is nothing more than a common expression. But is it?

Not to frighten anyone… but yes, it is true! People can actually be scared to death, in fact there are several cases of this phenomenon that occur each year in the U.S.

Here’s how it works. When you get scared, the flight or fight response is activated in your sympathetic nervous system by your brain sending out a surge of epinephrine (adrenaline) to your blood stream. This adrenaline rush focuses blood flow to the heart, lungs, brain, and muscles to increase strength and cognitive processes for critical/time sensitive situations. However, if the parasympathetic nervous system is not activated within a certain time parameter of the initial adrenaline rush, the excess adrenaline becomes toxic.

The parasympathetic nervous system would normally secrete the hormone norepinephrine, which is essentially the opposite of epinephrine, to revert the body’s blood flow to normal distribution and neutralize the epinephrine in the blood stream. However, if the body is put under constant stress for an extended period of time, adrenaline will continue to be produced to the point where the heart will not be able to keep up with the amount of blood flow it is receiving, resulting in cardiac muscle damage and cardiac arrest.

This very process is how athletes get heart attacks while competing. Instead of having the cholesterol induced heart attacks, theirs are due to the stress of the game which simulates a flight or fight situation, which henceforth triggers the flight or fight response. Because the game is for an extended period of time, the adrenaline is continuously produced putting the athletes at a higher risk of adrenaline toxicity.

Besides for athletes, normal people are at risk for adrenaline toxicity. If you are diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, even watching a horror movie may put you in the hospital. This is due to the disease atrophying the heart muscles, making it too weak to withstand the stressful response adrenaline induces. That being said, practically anyone with a weak enough heart, including infants and the elderly, have a higher risk of adrenaline toxicity.

On the bright side, there is a way to avoid being scared to death. Heart health is key! Healthy heart = stronger cardiac muscle = more durability to adrenaline. Exercise, take your vitamins, and eat healthy. It is as easy as pie… but I wouldn’t have too much.

Looks like at the end of the day, your mom’s nagging to eat healthy might just be what saves your life when entering a haunted house this Halloween.