Severe mental illness linked to higher death rate after heart attack

PEOPLE WITH a severe mental illness are more likely to die following a heart attack than those without a psychiatric diagnosis, new research has suggested.

Experts at the University of Edinburgh examined anonymous hospital data for more than 235,000 people admitted for heart attack in Scotland from 1991 to 2014.

They compared the risks of death and further heart attack and stroke among heart attack patients with schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder to patients without a history of mental illness.

The team found that people with one of these three conditions were more likely to die within 30 days, one year and five years, and to have another heart attack or stroke, compared to those without mental ill-health.

After 30 days, patients with schizophrenia were twice as likely to have died and patients with bipolar disorder or major depression had a 30-50 per cent increased risk of death. People with severe mental illness were also less likely to receive revascularisation, an operation to restore blood flow, that researchers said may indicate differences in care.

They say the findings may be due to a number of reasons including poor general health, social exclusion and possible differences in longer-term treatment, and are calling for disparities to be urgently addressed.

Lead researcher Dr Caroline Jackson said a more detailed investigation of entire patient journeys is needed to identify any weaknesses in care.

She added: “The underlying reason is likely to be multifactorial and complex, and remains poorly understood. We need to know how other factors contribute to these disparities.”