Fast breathing, sweaty palms, and shaky knees are all tell-tale signs of feeling the rush of fear. Scary movies and phobias can produce a terrifying full-body experience, and even be a little dangerous for our health. Our perception of these consistent threats actually controls the amount of fear we’re able to feel, but could our fear actually kill us? According to AsapSCIENCE’s video “Can You Be Scared To Death?,” the short answer is yes.

The feeling of terror has the ability to activate our natural protective mechanism — the fight or flight response, and release adrenaline. Our involuntary nervous system is able to respond to an increase in heart rate, blood flow to the muscles, and dilating pupils, while slowing down digestion, among other things. As a result, you become temporarily stronger and faster. However, too much fear can kink this into overdrive, which could damage heart tissue and even stop it from bleeding all together, says AsapSCIENCE.

Athletes are vulnerable to experiencing this fatal rush of adrenaline as a result of stimulated threats during intense competition. Moreover, spectators are also susceptible to its effects. A 2008 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found heart attacks more than doubled in countries in cities where the home team was eliminated during the 2006 World Cup.

It’s safe to say if you’re heart healthy then the incident of being scared to death is extremely low. Also, if we train ourselves to think differently about fears, we can actually reduce the amount of adrenaline they produce — even if we have inherited that fear from our ancestors.