People who experience moderate or extreme pain after a heart attack are more likely to die within eight years than patients who had no pain, a study has found.
- A patient’s level of pain can be a predictor of long-term survival after a heart attack.
- Researchers have found that pain is linked to a higher likelihood of death in the eight years following a heart attack.
- Severe pain can interfere with the healing and protection of the heart after a heart attack including preventing physical exercise.
After a heart attack, pain should be assessed and recognized as an important risk factor for future mortality.
Indeed, according to a study published on August 16 in the Journal of the American Heart Associationmoderate or extreme pain after a heart attack – most often due to other health conditions – could help predict the likelihood of death over the next 8.5 years.
Post-heart attack pain is a risk factor for death
The study authors used data from more than 18,000 patients living in Sweden. They were aged under 75 (the average age was 62 and 24.5% were women). These patients had suffered a heart attack between 2004 and 2013.
The researchers found that nearly half of the participants reported moderate or extreme pain one year after their heart attack. They also noted that the latter were 35% more likely to die of any cause during the 8.5-year study period compared to patients who reported no pain after their infarction.
People who reported feeling extreme pain were more than twice as likely to die during this time.
Heart attack: pain prevents rehabilitation of the heart
The authors explain this phenomenon by the fact that severe pain can be a potential obstacle to rehabilitation and participation in activities important for the protection of the heart, such as regular physical exercise, however necessary.
“The reduction or absence of physical activity in turn increases the risk“, said the author of the study, Linda Vixner, associate professor of medical sciences at the School of Health and Well-being of the University of Dalarna in Falun (Sweden).
Survival after a heart attack is rare
Myocardial infarction, also called heart attack, is the destruction of part of the heart muscle, called the myocardium, reminiscent of theHealth Insurance. It occurs when this area is no longer irrigated by blood. It follows the obstruction of a coronary artery.
Heart attack is one of the complications of cardio-neurovascular disease which is the number one cause of death worldwide. In France, up to 50,000 people suffer a sudden cardiac arrest each year, of which around 5% survive, indicates the Ministry of Health and Prevention.