Most individuals who experience a heart attack have at least one risk factor that is above healthy levels, according to new research.
A study featured in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology revealed that over 99 percent of heart attack patients had high levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, or a history of tobacco use.
Furthermore, many of these patients had multiple risk factors, with high blood pressure being the most prevalent.
Professor Philip Greenland, the lead author of the study, emphasized the importance of focusing on manageable risk factors rather than getting sidetracked by factors that are more difficult to treat.
He stated, “The study convincingly shows that nearly all heart attacks are preceded by one or more nonoptimal risk factors.”
Researchers from Northwestern Medicine and Yonsei University studied health records of over 9 million people in South Korea and around 7,000 individuals in the United States, covering a span of nearly two decades.
They utilized the American Heart Association’s guidelines for assessing ideal cardiovascular health, identifying four main risk factors: current or previous tobacco use, blood pressure of 120/80 mmHg or higher, cholesterol levels at 200 mg or above, and a fasting glucose level exceeding 100 mg/dL.
This fasting glucose measurement indicates blood sugar levels after not eating overnight and is commonly used for diabetes diagnosis.
The researchers looked through routine health screening data and found that 99 percent of those who developed coronary heart disease had at least one preceding risk factor, with over 93 percent exhibiting two or more. High blood pressure, affecting more than 95 percent of heart attack patients, was the most frequent risk factor.
Every year, approximately 100,000 individuals are hospitalized due to heart attacks. A recent report from the British Heart Foundation indicated that coronary heart disease, caused by narrowing arteries, is a leading reason for premature death, with around 66,000 fatalities attributable to it annually.
