Losing the Super Bowl may increase hometown deaths upwards of 22 percent

New studies found that watching a favorite team lose the Super Bowl, the Packers or the Steelers, may be enough to cause a heart attack, especially for older individuals.

New research found that cardiac deaths increase by upwards of 15 percent in the home city of the team that loses the Super Bowl. In contrast, deaths fall when the home team wins.

A similar study was conducted in 2009 as researchers analyzed death certificates in the few days following the Super Bowl.

The findings suggested that heart-related deaths rise as much as 22 percent in the city that loses the game.

The study can be found in the Clinical Cardiology journal.

Digging a little deeper, researchers analyzed various factors including gender, race, and age.

While a 15 percent death increase was found in men, cardiac deaths in women rose nearly 30 percent.

Researchers suggest that emotional connections exist between fans and teams, and these losses can hit home pretty hard.

Typically, men react negatively and angrily to losses, and this may also negatively affect females that are in direct contact.

Additionally, researchers noticed individuals over 65 years old noticed a 22 percent death increase as well, a figure much higher when compared to younger people.