iStock/Thinkstock(COPENHAGEN, Denmark) — The past three decades have seen a dramatic drop in deaths in survivors of heart attacks that struck before age 50 – a decrease in mortality researchers chalk up to a reduction in smoking and improvements in heart treatment.
But the bad news?
These early heart attack survivors still face nearly double the risk of early death than those their age who have not had a heart attack before, according to a new study published in Circulation.
Researchers in Denmark looked at medical charts of more than 21,000 patients diagnosed with a heart attack before the age of 50 and compared them to more than 200,000 of their age-matched peers. They found that overall 30-day mortality was 8.3 percent in the heart attack group, but the rate did improve every decade.
From 1980-1989, the rate was 12.5 percent, from 1990-1999, 8.4 percent, and from 2000-2009, 3.2 percent.
The most likely cause of death for these patients was a blockage in the arteries of their hearts.
As for the finding that these heart attack survivors still face a higher risk of early death than their peers, it is a healthy reminder that sustained lifestyle changes are needed after a heart attack at a young age.
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