Study Reveals That People Who Experience A Heart Attack May Experience One Soon After The First

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : August 4, 2021

A first heart attack is a critical, life-altering occurrence. In this day and age, most people survive it. A new study that has been conducted has highlighted the importance of doing anything possible in order to prevent another one from occurring.

Dr. Umesh Khot who is a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic said that it is like taking another hit and that a single heart attack is a lot to digest and having another will be a big blow to the heart.

He is the lead author of the study that has been mentioned earlier. This study looked at the outcomes of people who experienced a 2nd heart attack within 90 days of being discharged from the hospital which is called ‘recurrent myocardial infarction’. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Study Reveals That People Who Experience A Heart Attack May Experience One Soon After The First

The team examined data from over 6600 patients that had been admitted for a heart attack at the Cleveland Clinic between 2010 and 2017. Although only around 2.5% of these people have been admitted again within a period of 90 days with a recurring heart attack, almost 50% of those individuals would pass away within a period of five years.

Khot said that what they’ve done for the first time is analyze a huge population of victims to find a rare recurrence and possibly describe it. He added that it is important for the cardiology community to understand that this actually takes place and that it has significant consequences for long-term mortality.

Study Reveals That People Who Experience A Heart Attack May Experience One Soon After The First

A surprise that they found in the results is that the risk of an early recurrent heart attack mostly occurred in the initial 2 weeks. The implication of this is that a person has to get on top of it with regard to the timing of treatments.

The leading cause of death in the US and worldwide is heart disease. Almost 800,000 people have a heart attack in the country every year. Out of these, a quarter has a recurring heart attack. This information is based on statistics from the American Heart Association.

When the blood flow to the heart is blocked, a heart attack occurs which damages or destroys a part of the muscles of the heart. How much damage is done determines a person’s chances of survival. In addition to this, the quickness of treatment and medication also play a role.

Experts recommend listening to professional advice in order to prevent a recurring heart attack. This includes advice regarding medication, changes in lifestyle which circle around eating a healthy diet, controlling blood pressure, losing weight, and quitting smoking.

The new study is an observation based on which the frequency and dangers of recurrent heart attacks are calculated.

Khot mentioned that they were not able to answer whether they would be able to change this beyond the normal care that is already being given. A positive comes in the fact that they are now able to emphasize critical messages in terms of following up with your doctor and adherence to medicines.

Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist at New York University agreed with the point mentioned above.

She substantiated by saying that this is an important reminder even though she was not involved in the study. She was of the opinion that everyone in the community of cardiology has to remain more active in reminding people of the importance of actually making these lifestyle changes happen so that the risk of recurrent heart attacks is reduced.

To know more about: customer reviews on MetaboFix

It was acknowledged by both doctors that these changes aren’t easy to make.

Goldberg added that it is a lot to handle and that they need to do a better job to explain why these things are important.


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

Sign Up For Our Daily Dose Of Hot News