In the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person suffers a heart attack every 40 seconds. Heart disease, including heart attack, is the leading cause of death among Americans. However, most people survive their first heart attack and go on to lead normal lives, according to the American Heart Association.
According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, a person who experiences any form of severe pain about a year after a heart attack may be more likely to die within the next eight years.
This study has drawn attention to the importance of pain as an aspect for both physicians and patients to monitor in the months following infarction. Although more people are surviving a heart attack than in previous decades, little research has focused on the impact of pain on mortality in the post-infarction period.
The researchers analyzed the health data of 18,376 patients under the age of 75 who had suffered a heart attack and were monitored in a registry in Sweden between 2004 and 2013. The participants were asked about their pain levels during consultations with monitoring.
Although pain was not uncommon among stroke survivors, in the first two months after the attack, 65% of them reported pain. That figure dropped to about 45 percent about a year after the heart attack, when many continued to report moderate or severe pain.
Those who reported moderate pain were 35 percent more likely to die from any cause during the follow-up period compared to participants who reported no pain. Pain also appeared to be a stronger predictor of death risk than factors such as smoking.
The study could not pinpoint the cause of the link between pain and risk of death. However, a New York cardiologist, Dr. George Dangas, suggests that the pain could signal inflammation or other systemic problems in the body, including negative impact on the cardiovascular system.
People who take drugs for intense pain can also experience dangerous side effects. In addition, pain may discourage lifestyle changes that could reduce the risk of recurrent heart attack.
The researchers found that three demographic groups—women, nonsmokers, and those with diabetes—were more likely to report intense pain. Dr. Dangas emphasizes the importance of physicians paying close attention to patients who report post-infarction pain, and that patients should be honest about their level of discomfort to ensure proper evaluation and appropriate treatment.
While cardiac rehabilitation significantly reduced the risk of death in the first five years after a heart attack in a 2016 study, doctors stress that lifestyle changes remain vital for survivors, especially if they continue to suffer from post-heart attack pain .
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2023-08-19 14:24:32
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