Heart attack deaths have plummeted in recent years, but other types of Cardiovascular disease It still poses a major threat.
A new study by the American Heart Association (AHA) found that overall heart disease-related mortality rates decreased by 66% and heart attack deaths decreased by almost 90%.
Heart attacks are no longer the most fatal form of heart disease, but there are other types of increases, such as heart failure, irregular heartbeat (irregular heartbeat), and hypertensive heart disease (long-term hypertension).
The findings were published in the American Heart Association’s peer-reviewed journal.
In this study, researchers analyzed data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over 50 years of data focusing on heart disease deaths in adults aged 25 and older.
In 1970, a heart attack (also known as ischemic heart disease) represents more than half (54%) of all heart disease deaths.
As of 2022, only 29% of heart disease deaths were caused by heart attacks.
Heart failure and other heart disease deaths; Hypertensive heart disease But arrhythmias – but increased during that time frame.
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In 2022, these other types caused 47% of heart disease deaths from just 9% in 1970, a study found.
“This change in distribution of the types of heart disease that people are most dying has been of great interest to us,” says Sarah King, MD, the first author of the study, who lives in her second year internal medicine department at Stanford School of Medicine in Stanford, California.
“This evolution over the past 50 years reflects incredible success in the way heart attacks and other types of ischemic heart disease are managed,” she continued.
“However, a significant increase in deaths from other types of heart disease, including heart failure and arrhythmias, poses new challenges. Medical world It needs to be addressed. ”
According to the AHA, an arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeat, occurs when the electrical impulse to the heart is too fast, slow, or unstable. One common example of arrhythmias is atrial fibrillation (AFIB), which begins in the upper chamber of the heart.
Heart failure is defined as “a chronic condition in which the heart cannot send enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen.”
Hypertensive heart disease explains long-term, unaddressed damage to the heart HypertensionAha said.
Sadiya S. Khan, MD, cardiologist and associate professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, was not involved in the study, but commented on the “significant analysis.”
“Fortunately, this study suggests a preventable cause of death, a significant advance in heart attacks,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Unfortunately, it suggests there is a smoldering crisis of death from other types of heart disease that may be partially related to a heart attack. Increased burden of obesity This results in heart failure and arrhythmia-related deaths. ”
“The increase in other types of heart disease leading to death offset the victory of death, which reduced heart attacks.”
Researchers have presented several possible reasons for the reduction in deaths mainly from heart attacks Advances in treatment Due to a sudden acute heart event.
“From facilities to increased use of bystander CPR and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to treat cardiac arrest outside the hospital setting, to the creation of care systems that promote early recognition and rapid procedural and medical interventions to treat heart attacks, there have been great advances made to help survive the early, sharp cardiac events once sentenced to death.”
Researchers also touted several other medical advances, including coronary artery bypass grafting, cardiac imaging, and many new ones Heart disease medication.
Healthy lifestyle modifications, such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly, and managing cholesterol and blood pressure, have also contributed to reducing heart attack deaths, the AHA report said.
“It is important to note that if a person with a heart attack develops heart failure and it is called a death from heart failure, this does not mean that the heart attack may not have been a driver yet,” Khan said.
Despite improvements, researchers have stated that several other risk factors for heart disease, including obesity, Type 2 diabeteshypertension and physical inactivity still fuel the case.
In particular, obesity rose from 15% to 40% during the study period, and type 2 diabetes affects almost half of US adults.
It’s increased Average life expectancy Another factor. As people live longer, aging populations are more likely to experience different types of heart disease.
“We won a big battle against a heart attack, but the war against heart disease is not over,” King said. “We need to tackle heart failure now and other chronic diseases that affect people at age.”
“Next frontier Heart health The focus should be on preventing heart attacks. It also needs to focus on people ageing with healthier hearts and avoiding chronic heart conditions later in life. ”
AHA calculates heart health based on an individual’s score called “The Essence of Life 8.”
Those who score high scores in these eight regions are, on average, six years younger than their actual age.
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8 Lifestyle Behavior Optimal heart health is listed below.
Researchers pointed out some limitations Their researchincluding failure to analyze data by age, gender, race, ethnicity, region, or urbanization.
They also pointed out that there could be potential inconsistencies and data “errors” over the years.
Researchers also say the “real burden” of a heart attack can be “underestimated” in the findings.
“Certain conditions such as heart failure, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, especially ventricular arrhythmia and cardiac arrest can be very simplified,” they wrote. “Many of these cases may have underlying causes that cannot be accurately distinguished using current or past ICD (International Classification of Diseases) codes.”
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Khan noted that despite a decrease in direct heart attack deaths, the overall disease of heart disease remains a leading cause of deaths in the United States, accounting for more than 900,000 deaths in 2022.
