HHS HealthBeat (November 24, 2008)

The 30 days

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A study says around one heart attack patient in 100 dies in the first 30 days, of sudden cardiac death, when the heart stops. The study says that’s four times what was expected.

Veronique Roger of the Mayo Clinic:

``Patients, and health care providers in general, need to be attuned to that as a high-risk period.’’ (5 seconds)

But the researchers say the risk of sudden cardiac death after a heart attack falls after the first 30 days. And they say the risk has declined significantly over the past 30 years. But sudden cardiac death is still a higher risk during follow-up among patients who have heart failure – when the heart loses ability to pump blood.

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Public Health Service.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November, 24 2008