Heart attack patients ‘at risk by not following lifestyle advice’ – Times of Malta

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Heart attack patients ‘at risk by not following lifestyle advice’ – Times of Malta

Up to one in five heart attack patients will go on to have another attack.

Up to one in five heart attack patients will go on to have another attack.

Many heart attack patients are not taking the correct steps to look after their heart health and prevent another attack from happening, experts have warned.

Cardiologists said they see a noticeable gap between what lifestyle changes patients need to make compared to the actions they actually take.

A survey found that one in five (21 per cent) heart attack patients questioned still smoked and almost three in five were overweight.

Only one in five were actually taking the steps recommended by specialists to maintain their heart health for the rest of their lives and minimise their chances of another heart attack.

Up to one in five heart attack patients will go on to have another attack.

But almost half of the patients surveyed believed their heart attack was an isolated event, and nearly two in five thought patients can fully recover from a heart attack within a year.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of heart attacks and the risk of developing it is increased by smoking, being overweight or obese, eating a high-fat diet, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Joe Mills, consultant cardiologist and president-elect of the British Association for Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR), said: “Lifestyle is important for everyone, but more so for heart attack patients.

“While patients understand what changes they need to make, there is a fundamental misunderstanding in that patients do not know that a heart attack is an acute manifestation of a chronic disease process.

“Patients are not acting on this because they do not appreciate the seriousness of the long-term risks they face. It is important that patients recognise the chronic nature of heart conditions and that there is a chance of having another heart attack or cardiac event.

“The results also show that cardiologists realise there is a breakdown of understanding and there is a need for patients to work with healthcare professionals both in the short and longer-term in order to achieve the appropriate lifestyle changes that could improve their health and prevent further events.”

The survey, which was commissioned by AstraZeneca, saw 150 heart attack patients and 100 cardiologists questioned.

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