Why do some heart attack patients with healthy lifestyles have worse outcomes?
Higher mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients without standard modifiable risk factors: Results from a global meta-analysis of 1,285,722 patients.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Some people who have heart attacks don’t have common risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, or smoking. This study looked at nearly 1.3 million heart attack patients and found that those without these risks were still more likely to die in the hospital or go into shock, even though they were healthier in other ways.
Surprising Findings
Patients without traditional risk factors have higher in-hospital mortality despite being healthier overall.
Common wisdom says that avoiding smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol protects against heart disease. But here, the absence of these factors is linked to worse short-term outcomes.
Practical Takeaways
If you or a loved one has a heart attack despite a healthy lifestyle, advocate for full guideline-recommended treatment at discharge.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Some people who have heart attacks don’t have common risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, or smoking. This study looked at nearly 1.3 million heart attack patients and found that those without these risks were still more likely to die in the hospital or go into shock, even though they were healthier in other ways.
Surprising Findings
Patients without traditional risk factors have higher in-hospital mortality despite being healthier overall.
Common wisdom says that avoiding smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol protects against heart disease. But here, the absence of these factors is linked to worse short-term outcomes.
Practical Takeaways
If you or a loved one has a heart attack despite a healthy lifestyle, advocate for full guideline-recommended treatment at discharge.
Publication
Journal
International journal of cardiology
Year
2022
Authors
G. Kong, Y. Chin, B. Chong, R. Goh, O. Lim, C. Ng, M. Muthiah, R. Foo, S. Vernon, P. Loh, M. Chan, Nicholas W. S. Chew, G. Figtree
Related Content
Claims (5)
People with heart attacks who don’t have a certain risk profile are less likely to get the recommended heart meds when leaving the hospital — like cholesterol drugs, blood pressure meds, and blood thinners — and that might be why they have a higher chance of dying.
A lot of people who have heart attacks don’t actually have the usual risk factors like high blood pressure, smoking, or diabetes—so our current ways of predicting heart problems might be missing something important.
People who have a heart attack but don’t have the usual risk factors like high blood pressure or smoking are actually more likely to die in the hospital than those who do have those risks — which is surprising because they seem healthier on paper.
People who have a heart attack but don’t have typical risk factors like high blood pressure or smoking are actually more likely to go into dangerous shock—about 39% more likely—than those who do have those risks, even though they’re otherwise healthier.
People who have a sudden heart problem but don’t show typical risk factors like high blood pressure or smoking are more likely to die soon or go into shock — and one reason might be that doctors are less likely to give them the standard preventive treatments.