“An important risk factor” that could predict if you are at higher risk of dying from a heart attack, according to a new study

Recent research indicates that individuals who report experiencing moderate to severe pain in the year following a heart attack may face an elevated risk of mortality in the subsequent years compared to those who do not report any pain.

The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, discovered that individuals who endured intense pain in the year following a heart attack, even if it was unrelated to their heart condition, had a mortality risk exceeding twice that of individuals who did not experience any pain during the study period.

“After a heart attack,” according to Linda Vixner, the study’s author and an associate professor of medical science at the School of Health and Welfare at Dalarna University in Falun, Sweden, “it’s important to assess and recognize pain as an important risk factor of future mortality.”

The research indicates that cardiovascular risk escalates with the duration and extent of pain experienced by patients. This may be attributed to shared risk factors between chronic pain and cardiovascular diseases, including smoking, obesity, low levels of physical activity, poor dietary habits, and various socioeconomic factors.

Furthermore, severe pain can impede the rehabilitation process and hinder participation in crucial heart-protective activities like regular exercise. This reduced or absent physical activity, in turn, amplifies the risk.

Remarkably, prior to this study, the impact of pain on post-heart attack mortality had not undergone extensive investigation in large-scale studies.

The study involved an analysis of health data from over 18,000 Swedish adults who had experienced a heart attack between 2004 and 2013. On average, participants were 62 years old, with nearly a quarter of them being women. Pain levels were assessed during a follow-up visit two months post-heart attack, and participants also reported their pain status through a questionnaire one year after the event. Participants were categorized into groups based on their reported pain levels: no pain, moderate pain, or extreme pain.

Approximately 45% of the participants reported experiencing moderate or extreme pain one year after their heart attacks. Those with moderate pain faced a 35% higher likelihood of mortality during the follow-up period of up to 8.5 years compared to those reporting no pain. Individuals reporting extreme pain were at over twice the risk of mortality in comparison to those without pain.

Of note, among those who reported pain at the two-month mark, 65% also reported pain at the one-year follow-up, indicating that this pain was likely a persistent, long-term condition.

“Pain causes significant loss of function and may lead to disability, all of which contribute to major global public health issues,” noted Vixner. “For patients with pain, it is of particular importance to reduce other risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.”

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