A study from the University of Colorado and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center took a look at angina — episodic chest pain — in heart attack survivors. Bad enough to suffer a heart attack, but to have to live with weekly or daily chest pain, too? It happens more often than you might think.
Nearly two thousand heart attack survivors participated in the study. Approximately twenty percent of the participants reported some kind of chest pain one year after the heart attack. That’s one out of every five heart attack survivors!
- One percent of patients reported daily chest pain.
- Three percent of patients reported weekly chest pain.
- More than fifteen percent of patients reported chest pain that occurred less than once per week.
The patients who experienced episodic chest pain were likely to be younger males who had undergone bypass surgery. They were also likely to have suffered recurring chest pain while in the hospital for heart attack. Unfortunately, many of the study participants who reported continuing chest pain were smokers. Study participants who reported continuing chest pain also were more likely to experience persistent symptoms of depression and need surgery to improve blood flow to the heart after hospitalization.
The study authors hope that these results will encourage a change in how heart attack patients are monitored. Certain factors — like age, demographic, inpatient issues, and lifestyle choices — will hopefully stand out like a beacon to health care professionals, pointing out individuals who are at risk for ongoing chest pain after a heart attack. Researchers also plan to investigate the impact of quitting smoking and treating depression on patients with angina.
The bottom line? Knowing that someone is at risk for episodic chest pain after a heart attack can help alleviate or prevent the problem. Ultimately, heart attack survivors could look forward to a better quality of life — without angina.