Better education ‘linked with reduced heart failure risk after heart attack’

A new study has indicated that higher education is associated with a reduced risk of heart failure following a heart attack.

Conducted by the University of Bergen in Norway, the research assessed 70,506 patients aged 35 to 85 years who had been hospitalised with a first acute myocardial infarction during 2001 to 2009, none of whom had a history of heart failure.

It was shown that people who had received a secondary-level education via high school or vocational schools were less likely to experience heart failure, with the risk falling further among those who went through tertiary education at a college or university.

There are a number of potential reasons for this, including the fact that patients with lower education tend to delay seeking medical care, have poorer access to specialised care, generally experience more coexisting medical conditions and unhealthy lifestyles, and are less likely to be prescribed medication after a heart attack to prevent heart failure.

Study leader Dr Gerhard Sulo, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bergen, said: "Focused efforts are needed to ensure that heart attack patients with low education get help early, have equal access to treatment, take their medications and are encouraged to improve their lifestyles."