According to the research findings, being able to identify the symptoms of a heart attack plays a crucial role in expediting treatment, ultimately leading to a decreased likelihood of mortality.
Presented at the ESC Congress 2023, the data highlights the significance of promptly recognizing and responding to heart attack symptoms, as it is correlated with receiving rapid life-saving treatment.
Dr. Kyehwan Kim, the study’s author from Gyeongsang National University Hospital in Jinju, Republic of Korea, emphasized that while patients who had experienced a previous heart attack were more likely to recognize the symptoms, the overall recognition rate remained low for both first-time and repeat sufferers. While most patients could identify chest pain, less than one-third were aware of the other symptoms associated with a heart attack.
Heart attack symptoms encompass a range of signs, including chest pain, pain radiating to the arms, jaw, and neck, dizziness, cold sweats, shortness of breath, nausea, and loss of consciousness. Rapid action is essential in such cases, with an immediate call for an ambulance and swift treatment being crucial for survival and a complete recovery. The study focused on exploring the connection between symptom recognition, the time taken for treatment and clinical outcomes.
Gathering data from the KRAMI-RCC registry, which focuses on myocardial infarction patients in the Republic of Korea, the study employed trained nurses to inquire whether survivors recognized specific symptoms associated with heart attacks. These symptoms encompassed chest pain, shortness of breath, cold sweats, radiating pain to the jaw, shoulder or arm, dizziness/vertigo/lightheadedness/loss of consciousness, and stomach ache. Patients were categorized as “recognized symptoms” if they could identify at least one symptom; otherwise, they fell into the “did not recognize symptoms” group. The researchers then compared patient characteristics, time to life-saving treatment, and survival between these two groups after adjusting for various factors such as age, sex, education, and medical history.
Among the 11,894 myocardial infarction patients included in the study, 52.3% were found to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack. While most patients identified chest pain (92.9%) as a symptom, around one-third recognized shortness of breath (32.1%) and cold sweats (31.4%). Radiating pain was identified by 27.4% of patients, while only 7.5% recognized dizziness/vertigo/lightheadedness/loss of consciousness, and a mere 1.3% identified stomach ache as a symptom.
When examining patient characteristics, men exhibited a higher likelihood of symptom recognition compared to women (79.3% of men vs. 69.0% of women). Other factors linked to symptom recognition were younger age, higher education, and living with a spouse.
Comparing treatment timelines and outcomes, it was found that 57.4% of patients who recognized heart attack symptoms received artery-opening treatment within two hours, compared to 47.2% of those who did not recognize the symptoms. Additionally, patients who recognized symptoms had a lower in-hospital mortality rate (1.5%) compared to those who couldn’t identify heart attack symptoms (6.7%). The latter group more frequently experienced cardiogenic shock and heart failure.
Among patients with recurrent myocardial infarctions, the recognition rate was higher (57.5%) for those previously enrolled in KRAMI-RCC compared to those not previously enrolled (43.2%). For patients experiencing their first myocardial infarction, only 14.4% could identify the symptoms.
Dr. Kim stressed the importance of education for both the general public and heart attack survivors, highlighting that knowledge of heart attack symptoms can lead to quicker treatment and improved survival rates. He emphasized that women, older patients, those with lower education levels, and individuals living alone could benefit significantly from learning to recognize the symptoms.