No Heart-Attack Drop for Younger Adults

Though heart attacks have declined among older adults, a new study finds that rates have stayed the same for those under 55. And younger women continue to do worse than younger men after heart attacks. The new study covered the years 2001 through 2010. Researchers looked at records of nearly 231,000 hospital stays for heart attacks. All of the patients were ages 30 to 54. About one-quarter of them were women. Hospital-stay rates for heart attack remained about the same throughout the decade. This was true for both men and women. Women tended to stay longer in the hospital than men. They also were more likely to die in the hospital, though their death rates fell during the decade. Death rates remained the same for men. Black women were more likely than white women to have a hospital stay for a heart attack. There was not much difference between the rates for black and white men.