Study suggests better outcome for those not living alone after heart attack

Study suggests better outcome for those not living alone after heart attack

A report published by Emily and colleagues from the Yale School of Medicine in the American Journal of Cardiology suggested that though risk at one year is similar for those living alone and not, the risk is 35% higher at four years for those living alone. The researches have tried to account for significant differences in the health related parameters between those living alone and not, before arriving at this conclusion. One such difference noted was that only a fifth of those living alone were having a healthy weight for their height while one third of those not living alone had it.

Those living alone also tended to be more older and the likelihood of being smokers was twice as high. The authors suggested that those who live alone should have facility to get enhanced social support from friends, family and neighbours to speed up recovery and improve survival. Those will less social support may also actively seek more support from community or workplace.

Reference

1. Bucholz EM, Rathore SS, Gosch K, Schoenfeld A, Jones PG, Buchanan DM, Spertus JA, Krumholz HM. Effect of living alone on patient outcomes after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction. Am J Cardiol. 2011 Oct 1;108(7):943-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2011.05.023. Epub 2011 Jul 26. PMID: 21798499; PMCID: PMC3670597.