Heart Attack Risk: Younger Women Face Greater Threat of Rehospitalization Than Men

A new study found that younger women face double the risk of rehospitalization in the year following a heart attack compared to men
Women aged 55 and younger experienced higher rates of risk factors such as obesity, heart failure, and depression
There are roughly 40,000 American women who are aged 18 to 55 that could be at risk

A new study that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports found that younger women have nearly double the chances of rehospitalization in the year following a heart attack compared to men.

Researchers found that women 55 years and younger experienced higher risk factors such as obesity, heart failure, and depression. The study's findings suggest a need for closer health monitoring of the roughly 40,000 American women aged 18 to 55 who were discharged from the hospital and subsequently suffered heart attacks.

Heart Attack Risk Among Younger Women

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) funded the study, which is part of the NIH. The conclusion of the research was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology as per the National Institute of Health.

In a statement, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, Harlan M. Krumholz, said that the researchers were the first to show rehospitalizations following heart attacks in women 55 years and several non-cardiac factors accompanied younger.

Krumholz, a corresponding author of the study, said that these appear more common in younger women than men of similar age and come together with more significant consequences.

He is also the director of the Yale School of Medicine's Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE). Krumholz added that the study's results suggest that health experts should closely examine the non-cardiac factors in younger women.

Greater Risk of Rehospitalization

The study's lead author, Mitsuaki Sawano, a postdoctoral associate at Yale-New Haven Hospital Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, said there should be public awareness towards preventing heart attacks. He noted that many people have the misguided belief that heart attacks only occur in middle-aged or older men, according to Medical & Life Sciences News.

The researchers used data from the VIRGO study, which is an observational study of the presentation, treatment, and outcomes of young people who have previously suffered heart attacks while in the age between 18 and 55.

The latest study included 2,985 United States patients, 2009 of which were women and the remaining 976 were men. These individuals were all hospitalized for heart attacks. When the team excluded in-hospital deaths, their final data was 2,979 patients, in 2007 of which were women and the remaining 972 were men.

Researchers investigated acute events that forced patients to be hospitalized for any reason and cause-specific hospitalizations. These were characterized as an individual staying in the hospital or observation unit for more than 24 hours in the year after being discharged following a bout of heart attack, said NewsWise.