Emergency Care, Heart Disease / 23.11.2014
Heart Attack Rates Drop Nearly 25%
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael J. Ward, MD, MBA
K12 Scholar
Assistant Professor Vanderbilt University
Department of Emergency Medicine
Nashville, TN 37232
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Ward: The number of Americans living with cardiovascular disease is only expected to increase in the coming years. However, we do not know the national effects of increased medication use and preventive efforts to stop the most serious form of a heart attack, called an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In particular, there are no estimates of how often this serious form of a heart attack shows up in the emergency department.
Between 2006 and 2011 we found an average of 258,000 STEMIs annually in the U.S. or 8.7 per 10,000 U.S. adults per year. Interestingly, the number of STEMIs has decreased by more than 70,000 per year over this time, a 24% reduction. We found similar annual decreases across every age group and geographic region in the U.S. The decreases were most pronounced among those 85 years and older and in the Midwest.
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