Higher risk of death in heart attack victims with no chest painOctober 12, 2001An absence of chest pain during a heart attack increases the risk of death, shows research in Heart. Previous research shows that chest pain is not typical of a heart attack in around one in four patients. The study focused on 3684 admissions to 20 adjacent hospitals in Yorkshire for suspected heart attack for three months in 1995. In 2100 cases a heart attack was confirmed. Over one in five heart attack sufferers had symptoms other than chest pain. The most common symptoms were shortness of breath, followed by collapse and upper body discomfort. Women were significantly more likely to number in this group. And this gender difference remained even after adjusting for other risk factors such as older age-these patients tended to be in their 70s-, and an underlying diagnosis of heart failure or diabetes, both of which were more common in those without chest pain. But a painless heart attack also carried a greater risk of death and less aggressive treatment. These patients were over twice as likely to die within a month and three times as likely to die within a year as patients who had typical chest pain. An absence of chest pain also reduced the chances of treatment on a specialist unit or enrolment in a cardiac rehabilitation programme, or being discharged with a regimen of drugs known to minimise the risk of occurrence and improve survival. The authors comment: "It is interesting to speculate, therefore, how much of the poor outcome of this subgroup without chest pain is attributable to the poorer treatment received." British Medical Journal (BMJ) |
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