Heart attacks increase risk of other health conditions – study

Having a heart attack significantly increases the risk of developing other serious long-term health conditions, research has suggested.

Researchers at the University of Leeds analysed more than 145 million records covering every adult patient admitted to hospital over a nine-year period to establish the long-term health outcomes of patients following a heart attack, in what is believed to be the largest study of its kind.

While heart attacks are serious and can be life-threatening, nowadays more than seven in 10 people survive them, provided they receive treatment as soon as possible, the charity the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has said.

Previous research has shown that heart attacks can lead to further conditions that affect the heart and circulatory system, as well as other physical and mental health conditions.

The new research was part-funded by the BHF with the Wellcome Trust and showed that patients who had a heart attack went on to develop further conditions at a much higher rate than people of the same age and sex who had not had one.

Up to a third of people who had experienced a heart attack went on to develop heart failure or kidney failure, 7% had further heart attacks and 38% died from any cause within the nine-year study period.

Conditions including heart failure, atrial fibrillation and stroke all occurred more frequently for people who had a heart attack compared with those who did not. However, the risk of cancer was lower overall and the risk of dementia did not differ.

The study also identified that people from more socioeconomically deprived backgrounds were more likely to die or develop serious long-term health conditions following a heart attack. In particular, they were more likely to develop heart failure and kidney failure, compared with people from less deprived backgrounds of a similar age.

The researchers analysed the records of all individuals aged 18 years and over, who were admitted to one of 229 NHS trusts in England between 2008 and 2017.

This amounted to 146 million hospitalisations among 34 million individuals. There were 433,000 reports of people who had a heart attack for the first time. The average age of heart attack patients was 67 years, and 66% of patients were male.

The study looked at 11 non-fatal health outcomes, plus death from any cause, and compared the results to a control group of 2 million individuals.

The research showed a significantly increased risk of developing some conditions following a heart attack when compared to the control group of patients.

One of the most likely conditions to develop after a heart attack was heart failure, with 29.6% of the study group going on to develop the condition within nine years of their heart attack. In comparison, 9.8% of the control group developed heart failure over the same time frame.

Kidney failure developed in 27.2% of the patients in the study group, compared with 19.8% of the control group, and 22.3% of the study group went on to develop atrial fibrillation, compared with 16.8% of the control group.

Professor Bryan Williams, BHF’s chief scientific and medical officer, said: “While more people than ever are surviving heart attacks, there can be longer-term consequences. Particularly after a major heart attack, people can be left with irreparable damage to their heart, putting them at increased risk of heart failure.

“This study sheds further light on how heart attacks are associated with increased risk of developing other serious health conditions, including heart failure and atrial fibrillation. It also found that those from more socioeconomically deprived backgrounds are at greater risk of further ill health after a heart attack, and at a younger age.

“The research suggests that these patients may benefit from additional support and monitoring to help reduce their risk of developing further health conditions,” Prof Williams added.

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