Sodiq Ojuroungbe
New research has found that those who experience any form of extreme discomfort a year after a heart attack are more likely to die within eight years.
According to the study, pain should not be ignored by both doctors and patients months after a heart attack, as greater levels of pain were associated with a greater increase in mortality risk.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association discovered a link between chronic pain during the first year after a heart attack and long-term survival.
Findings from the study showed that pain was a greater indicator of death risk after a heart attack than smoking.
According to the World Health Organisation, a heart attack or stroke may be the first sign of an underlying disease.
Symptoms of a heart attack, WHO noted include pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest, pain or discomfort in the arms, the left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back.
Researchers that carried out the study found that those who experienced severe pain a year after their heart attack, even the one not related to heart issues were more than twice as likely to pass away within eight and a half years.
During this study, the researchers examined health information from 18,376 heart attack victims under the age of 75, who were monitored by a registry in Sweden between 2004 and 2013.
During their follow-up appointments, the patients were asked to complete questionnaires that measured their level of pain.
The length of the pain, however, was not a question in the survey.
Among the heart attack survivors, the pain was prevalent.
65 per cent reported some pain two months afterwards. However, the number fell at about a year, when about 45 per cent of the patients reported moderate or extreme pain.
But even at the modest level, the researchers discovered that participants appeared to be at risk for developing new, major health issues.
In comparison to other risk variables, such as tobacco use, pain appeared to be a far greater indication of the likelihood of death.
The researchers found that three demographic groups were more likely to report extreme pain: women, nonsmokers, and those with diabetes.
While stressing that pain should not be ignored by both doctors and patients, months after a heart attack, the researchers noted that greater levels of pain were associated with a greater increase in mortality risk.
A cardiologist, Dr. Kareem Akande told PUNCH Healthwise that even if someone has not experienced a heart attack, they should not disregard chronic pain, adding that it may be cardiac-related.
He pointed out that experiencing chronic pain is not just a symptom of a problem, but an illness that requires urgent attention.
“This study demonstrates that having chronic pain can increase your risk of dying after having a heart attack, so paying attention and addressing your pain is essential.
“It is still difficult to determine the exact mechanism by which pain increases the risk of dying, but if pain persists a year after a heart attack, there may still be active myocardial (heart) injury.
“Heart-related discomfort can be a sign of oxygen deprivation in the heart brought on by artery obstructions, separate from the blockage that resulted in the initial heart attack.”
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