Medical Edge Newspaper Column

Heart Attack Survival Improves

November 18, 2007
Readers:
Findings from a multinational study show that among people hospitalized for heart attack, the use of therapies shown to improve outcomes has markedly increased, and survival rates have improved.

The study, which appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved nearly 45,000 people. In 1998, 8.4 percent of study participants died in a hospital from a heart attack. In 2005, the percentage was 4.5. Subsequent heart attacks after hospitalization were experienced by 4.8 percent in 1999 and only 2 percent in 2005.

Researchers say improved survival during the study's six-year time frame correlated with a doubling of the use of beta-blockers, which reduce the risk of future heart attack, and interventional procedures to open blocked arteries.

Mayo Clinic cardiologists say that the study's findings highlight the value of adopting treatments into routine practice that have been shown to improve outcomes in clinical trails. The study also reinforces the existing wisdom that timely intervention improves survival chances. The bottom line: If you think you're having a heart attack, seek medical help right away.

— Mayo Clinic Health Letter