Health emergencies can happen anywhere. But there's nothing worse than suffering a heart attack while you're behind the wheel.

That's especially true during the holiday season when parties abound and the stress and excitement levels are high.

When this health emergency happens, a driver can lose control of his or her vehicle, hit the one in front or in the next lane, or worse, veer to the opposite direction of the traffic flow and cause a head-on crash.

Though no official numbers are indicating how often heart attacks occur, they often happen especially during the holiday season when traffic congestion is heavier than usual and motorists with elevated risks of this health condition easily get stressed.

Even losing one's temper could trigger a heart attack (and still suffer from it hours after he or she has calmed down).

It doesn't help that motorists are exposed to high levels of air pollutants — e.g., from exhausts — especially when traffic is bad and they are "trapped" in a bumper-to-bumper situation. Heart attacks are also more common when air pollution levels are high.

People who breathe polluted air regularly are more likely to have clogged arteries and heart disease. Sitting in traffic may be particularly dangerous because it can combine car fumes with anger or frustration which eventually leads to suffering a heart attack.

Then there's also the instance of overindulging in food and drinks, especially during parties, that could also trigger a heart attack particularly in people already diagnosed with a heart disease.

Decades ago, health experts noticed that more people suffered from a heart attack during December and January. A closer look at the numbers showed that the spike was most pronounced in the weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year's Day when people usually consume heavy meals.