A study has come out with the good news that in the last six years, death rates and heart failure in hospitalized heart attack patients have fallen sharply- most likely because of better treatment.
The study involved 44,372 patients and was conducted between July 1999 and December 2006. It was carried out in 113 hospitals in 14 countries.
During the period, deaths from heart attacks reduced from 8.4 percent in 1999 to 4.6 percent in 2006, while new heart failure cases dropped from 20 to 11 per cent. Deaths among patients with milder heart attacks were reduced from 2.9 percent to 2 percent.
Lead author Dr. Keith A. A. Fox said:
The changes must be due to improved treatment of patients after presentation to hospital. The improvement is due to the combined effect of better use of anti-clotting and other heart attack drugs, and greater use of angioplasty.
He added that following the latest guidelines could reduce by half the risk of patients suffering from a heart attack or a impending heart attack. Earlier studies have shown that patients getting prompt treatment might avoid going into heart failure. One of the most helpful procedures is angioplasty where a blocked artery is opened up surgically.
By applying the benefits of existing clinical trials — as synthesized in national and international guidelines — huge benefits for patients can be gained, and it is possible to prevent deaths and heart failure, Fox agreed.
Heart failure, a condition in which the heart gets flabby and cannot efficiently pump blood, often occurs after an attack damages heart tissue.
The American College of Cardiology recommends that patients must get angioplasty done within 90 minutes of entering hospitals.
The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
