Study: Level Of Healthcare After Heart Attack Varies By Region

BOSTON (CBS) — Where you live may influence the quality of healthcare you get after a heart attack, according to a study in JAMA Cardiology. After having a heart attack, patients should be treated with high-intensity statin therapy and drugs to lower cholesterol and try to prevent a second one. After studying data on nearly 140,000 patients hospitalized after a heart attack, researchers found large variations in high-intensity statin use across the country, with the greatest use in New England and lowest use in the west south-central region, which includes Texas and Louisiana. Statin use was also higher in teaching hospitals. But women were also less likely to receive high-intensity statin therapy after a heart attack than men.
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Boston News Health Healthwatch Syndicated Local Dr. Mallika Marshall Heart Attack Source Type: news