[Weekly biological rhythms in morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases]

Any assessment of the weekly rhythm of morbidity due to cardiovascular diseases should take into account the fact that as regards minor cases the rate of admission to the internal department outpatient unit is greatly distorted by the psychosocial factor, due to which the maximum number of admissions is on Mondays, the minimum on Saturdays; also Sundays are noted for a relatively low rate of admissions. It the subjective factor is eliminated by focussing attention solely on sudden cardiovascular deaths we can see the curve of frequency running in absolute reverse, i.e., that, on the contrary, Saturdays and Sundays at at-risk days. Mondays remain high-risk days, too, though not quite so prominently. The author discusses the cause of the phenomenon warning of the breaches of set biorhythms and of spells of stress not only at work but also during weekend "leisure" due to excessive physical as well as mental exertion.