U.S. heart attack mortality reached a two-decade low in 2014
The percentage of heart attack patients dying dropped from 20 percent in 1995 to 12.4 percent
Heart-healthy changes to diet and exercise along with a national focus on improving treatment and recovery from heart attacks appears to be making a difference.
Fewer older adults are having heart attacks, and fewer of those who do die as a result, according to an analysis of more than 4.3 million U.S. Medicare patients that spanned two decades up to 2014.
The percentage of patients who died within 30 days of a heart attack dropped to 12.4 percent in 2014, from 20 percent in 1995, researchers report online March 15 in JAMA Network Open. Declines were seen across sex, race and age in this group of patients, who are 65 and older.