Heart attacks becoming deadlier for under-55s
A major study found that severe heart attacks are becoming increasingly deadly for Americans under 55, with younger men seeing the sharpest increases in mortality over the past decade. Younger women remain more likely to die from severe heart attacks than their male peers, highlighting the importance of early cardiovascular intervention and regular checkups.
The recent increase in deadly severe heart attacks among younger adults reverses a long-term trend of declining heart attack mortality in the U.S.. This concerning development is highlighted in a study analyzing nearly one million hospitalizations of adults aged 18-54 between 2011 and 2022.. The study found a 1.2% absolute increase in in-hospital deaths for those with a first severe heart attack, known as an ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).. For younger women, the in-hospital mortality rate for a severe heart attack was 3.1%, compared to 2.6% for their male counterparts.. Despite having similar rates of in-hospital complications as men, women received fewer cardiovascular procedures to identify and treat the cause of their heart attack.. This disparity in treatment may contribute to the higher mortality rates observed in women.. Nontraditional risk factors are strongly linked to in-hospital deaths from heart attacks in this younger age group, more so than traditional ones like high cholesterol.. These nontraditional factors include low income, kidney disease, and non-tobacco drug use.. Younger women were more likely than men of the same age to have these nontraditional risk factors.. Among patients with severe heart attacks, tobacco use was the most common traditional risk factor, with a higher prevalence in women (64.3%) compared to men (61.0%).. For those with less severe heart attacks (NSTEMI), high blood pressure was the most prevalent traditional risk factor for both sexes.. Low income was the most common nontraditional risk factor across all heart attack types for both men and women..
