Heart Attacks More Common Among Low-income Canadians

A new report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information says that low-income Canadians are more likely to suffer from heart attacks than their richer counterparts. The report says that nearly 67,000 Canadians were hospitalized due to a heart attack in 2008-09. A detailed analysis showed that those residing in poorer neighborhoods were 37 per cent more likely to have a heart attack than those in the affluent districts.

"Medical literature indicates that not every patient is selected for or would benefit from such a procedure," the report said, adding that mortality rates within 30 days of hospitalization remained at 8.3% for rich as well as poor patients.

Heart attacks were found to be occurring in 347 per 100,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador, which was the peak and a low of 169 per 100,000 in British Columbia. The report added that if the heart attack rate was similar for all groups, it would result in potential savings of $100 million.


Source-Medindia
RAS