Getting Heart Surgery? Wait For The Full Moon
Waning Full Moon Wikimedia Commons Surgeries during a waning full moon have lower mortality rates and shorter hospital stays, according to a new study. It sounds a bit like an old wives tale, but if you're in the market for a cardiac surgery, you may want to keep a watchful eye on the moon. A recent study at Rhode Island Hospital found that patients who underwent aortic dissection during the waning full moon were less likely to die, and spent less time in the hospital overall--10 days during the full moon cycle versus 14 days at other times of the month. (Interestingly, men who had an additional cardiac procedure while at the hospital also healed faster.) Other studies have postulated that the lunar cycle affects more than just tides. Maximum deaths from cardiovascular emergencies occurred during the first and last quarters of the moon's cycle, according to a 1989 report. The new...