It has been known that individuals with diabetes are at a greater risk for developing heart disease along with a higher incidence of death following a heart attack.   But the extent of this fact is greater than expected according to a 2016 study conducted by researchers in England.

This population-based cohort study involved more almost three-quarters of a million patients living in England and Wales with nearly 2 million person years at risk over an 8.4 year follow-up period which showed this strong and highly significant association between diabetes and mortality following a heart attack.

The patients with diabetes who had heart attacks were 50 percent more likely to die than people without diabetes. 

Dr. Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, stated, “We knew that following a heart attack, you are less likely to survive if you also have diabetes.  However, we didn’t know if this observation was due to having diabetes or having other conditions which are commonly seen in people with diabetes.”

For the research, scientists identified individuals who had heart attacks analyzing the data between January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2013 as either ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI) or non-STEMI (NSTEMI).  

Findings showed 35.8 percent of patients with diabetes died after have a heart attack compared to 25.3 percent pf patients who did not have diabetes.

People with diabetes were also 56 percent more likely to die if they had a STEMI heart attack which means total blockage of the coronary artery while those who had a NSTEMI heart attack, meaning partial blockage of the coronary artery, were 39 percent more likely to die.

Overall, relative survival was worse among patients with diabetes compared to patients without diabetes. 

This study appears to be the first large scale study investigating the excess mortality associated with diabetes following a heart attack.  The results point to the fact that diabetes is a major long-term burden on cardiovascular disease among patients with diabetes. Even though more patients than ever are surviving heart attacks, a greater focus needs to be emphasized and placed on figuring out the exact reason why someone with diabetes has a significantly higher rate of death following a heart attack.

For more information on how diabetes places a person at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease and how to prevent it, visit here.