![\"\\u200bAn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/u200ban-expert-has-warned-the-alarm-could-be-harmful-to-those-with-underlying-heart-conditions.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA health expert has warned that the Government’s ‘Armageddon alarm’ set to take place on Sunday could harm those with underlying heart conditions.<\/p>\n
Phones across the UK will be sent an alarm about 3pm on Sunday as the Government tests its emergency alert system for the second time.<\/p>\n
The alarm will be sent to all 4G and 5G phones and tablets.<\/p>\n
The alarm is designed to send “life-saving information” during moments of crisis, including during a wildfire or storm.<\/p>\n
However, a health expert has warned that the test could be risky.<\/p>\n
An expert on acute stress responses from Deakin University, Dr Luana Main, indicated that those with underlying heart conditions may benefit from opting out of the alert ahead of Sunday.<\/p>\n
According to Dr Main, the emergency alarm could trigger heart attacks in some people.<\/p>\n
She told The Daily Mail that “sudden alarms like those used in emergency services can activate our fight-or-flight response, which is our body’s way of dealing with a sudden threat or stressor”.<\/p>\n
An expert has warned the alarm could be harmful to those with underlying heart conditions<\/p>\n
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GETTY (STOCK)<\/p>\n
“Even when there’s no actual danger,” Dr Main said.<\/p>\n
“In some rare cases, for individuals with underlying cardiac vulnerabilities, it is possible that it may trigger a cardiac event.”<\/p>\n
When people are surprised by a loud noise, their bodies can go into a highly excited state.<\/p>\n
Dr Main said people’s bodies can “react as if we are under threat”.<\/p>\n
![\"\\u200bThose](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/u200bthose-with-health-conditions-have-been-urged-to-consider-opting-out-of-the-warning.jpg\")
\u200bThose with health conditions have been urged to consider opting out of the warning<\/p>\n
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GETTY (STOCK)<\/p>\n
“Our heart rate and blood pressure spike,” she added.<\/p>\n
“Cortisol, our stress hormone, surges, contributing to anxiety, irritability, and long-term stress.”<\/p>\n
In the past, the reaction could have helped people in life-or-death situations, but it is more often than not, unnecessary.<\/p>\n
Dr Main’s research found that when exposed to emergency alarms, participants’ heart rates jumped from an average of 74 to 111 beats per minute or even higher.<\/p>\n
The sudden shock of the alarms has affected firefighters so much it could be fatal.<\/p>\n
Studies in the US indicated that almost half of all firefighter fatalities were caused by sudden cardiac arrest, 18 per cent of which were during an alarm.<\/p>\n
However, Sunday’s alarm won’t be nearly as loud or shocking as those used by emergency services.<\/p>\n
Though the alarm could still pose a risk to vulnerable individuals.<\/p>\n
That increases significantly if the alarm wakes people from their sleep.<\/p>\n
Some studies have shown that blood pressure increases up to 74 per cent after being woken by a loud noise.<\/p>\n
“Sleep inertia may follow, especially if the alarm interrupts deep sleep, impairing cognition and mood for hours,” Dr Main said.<\/p>\n
“Frequent nighttime alarms impact our sleep, which can compromise immune function and impair metabolism.” <\/p>\n
But, the alarm will occur during the day on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A health expert has warned that the Government’s ‘Armageddon alarm’ set to take place on Sunday could harm…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[113921,51,12,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-401608","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-across-the-uk","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115155193671932225","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}