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What happens when you wear a heart monitor inside a haunted house

Posted at 7:13 AM, Oct 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-27 07:13:35-04

When you go to a haunted house this weekend, you'll want to pay close attention to the notice that says 'enter at your own risk.'

Doctors say they’re there for good reason.

“Fear, excitement all of those things, trigger something called the 'fight or flight response,'" said Dr. Brad Martin, a Cardiologist at UH Hospitals.

He said being scared puts stress on your heart.

“What this does is it causes the heart rate to increase; it actually has the heart squeeze robustly.”

If you have a pre-existing heart condition or you’re 30 years old and over, it could spell big problems.

Dr. Martin says you could pass out or have a heart attack, if your heart rate gets too high, but that is the exception to the rule.

Typically, people in their 20s and 30s can get up to 180 bpm, but that peak heart rate declines as we get older, or we have a history of heart problems.

News 5’s Lauren Wilson tested this out firsthand. Wearing a heart monitor, she went through the Extreme Nightmare Haunted House at Spooky Ranch in Columbia Station.

Watch in the media player above.