The Rhythms of the Moon: Can the Moon Affect Cardiac Arrhythmias?

TL;DR

This study investigates whether the moon's phases or distance from Earth affect the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias in patients.

Contribution

The study is the first to analyze a large dataset of emergency room admissions to test the moon's potential influence on cardiac arrhythmias.

Findings

No significant correlation was found between lunar phases or moon–Earth distance and cardiac arrhythmia diagnoses.

Underweight patients showed a minor statistical difference in arrhythmia patterns related to moon distance, but this was not confirmed in Holter monitoring.

The moon does not appear to influence the presentation of rhythmological complaints in emergency room patients.

Abstract

Diagnosing paroxysmal cardiac arrhythmias early poses a challenge, yet it holds paramount significance. Certain patients hold strong beliefs regarding the moon’s impact on cardiac arrhythmias. This study aims to examine the potential correlation. In our emergency room, each patient presentation is assigned an “admission diagnosis.” An analysis was conducted on admission diagnoses from 2012–2020 (before the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic). The frequency of rhythmological diagnoses was investigated, both collectively and separately, as well as categorized by the underlying pathomechanism, in relation to the lunar phase and the moon’s proximity to the Earth at the time of admission. Moreover, the impacts of sex, age, and weight were evaluated. A total of 58,230 patient presentations were recorded, with 16.9% coded with rhythmological diagnoses. No significant differences were found in the distribution of cardiac arrhythmias concerning lunar phases or the moon–Earth distance. Sex, age, and weight did not influence this distribution, except in a small group of underweight patients (<55 kg), where a statistically significant difference was observed with greater moon distance. To verify this result, we investigated all existing Holter records of underweight patients presenting to the emergency room between 2017 and 2020. In 195 24-h Holter recordings, a uniform burden of supraventricular extrasystoles and atrial fibrillation/flutter irrespective of the moon’s distance from the Earth was observed. Contrary to patients’ beliefs, the moon does not seem to affect the presentations with rhythmological complaints and diagnoses in our single-center analysis, irrespective of age, sex, or the arrhythmia type. The moon cannot aid in diagnosing paroxysmal arrhythmias.