Severity of First-Time Heart Attacks on Decline

While heart disease is still the leading killer in the U.S., first-time heart attacks are becoming less severe, with the number of heart attack sufferers actually decreasing by 30 percent over the last decade. Even with the great strides made toward reducing heart attack deaths, one of the main issues that still prevails is many people do not know the key signs of a heart attack and realize the importance of immediate medical care. Quick medical treatment could actually save a heart attack sufferer from certain death.

Many times chest pains are brushed off as something less serious than a heart attack, such as indigestion or a cramp. Most people do not realize that chest pain—feeling as if an elephant is stepping on your chest—is a key sign of a heart attack, as well as a feeling of indigestion or shortness of breath, lightheadedness, or discomfort in another part of the body.

A newly released study shows that first-time heart attack sufferers are actually fairing better than in the past in the United States. Researchers recently reported data in the January 20 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, which led to their conclusion that the severity of first heart attacks has dropped significantly, leading to fewer deaths as a result of coronary heart disease. The lead author of the study, Merle Myerson, M.D., Ed.D., cardiologist and director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital of Columbia University in New York City said, “This landmark study suggests that better prevention and better management in the hospital have contributed to the reduction in deaths."

The study points to some positive steps taken by hospitals and medical staffs to help reduce the number of heart disease deaths. Dr. Myerson said, "Better control of risk factors for heart disease, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as improvements in hospital management may lessen the severity if somebody has a heart attack." They noticed improvements across the board with the exception of heart attack sufferers still not getting to the hospital very quickly, with the number of patients arriving at the hospital within the first two hours of their first symptoms remaining at only 33 percent. Medical attention is the key, within the first couple of hours of heart attack symptoms, for the best odds of survival and the least damage to the heart.

Myerson and colleagues included data from a previous "Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study" (ARIC) that considered data from 1987 to 1994 and was conducted in North Carolina, Maryland, Minnesota, and Mississippi, from rural areas, cities and suburban areas, in an effort to encompass happenings throughout the country. Dr. Meyerson's team also considered additional data gathered through 2002 of more than 10,000 first-time heart attack patients ranging from ages of 35 to 74. She said, "This study shows everyone has a decrease of severity of their heart attacks. Men and women, blacks and whites—all showed the same trends.”

Recently released government figures show deaths attributed to heart disease in the United States, over the past decade, have declined by 30 percent. The figures seem to reflect better overall medical care, including keeping cholesterol levels in check, as well as blood pressure, and the decline of smokers. With the reduction of the severity of first-time heart attacks, and other factors, coronary heart disease deaths have decreased. Dr. Myerson said, “"This tells us that better primary prevention, as well as better care for those with acute heart attacks is working. Attributing the reduction in severity to specific causes will be an important next step so effective strategies can be reinforced and public health policies can be better directed."