Heart Report Fewer deaths from heart attack

But significant regional differences in cardiac patient care

15/01/2013

Fewer and fewer people in this country are victims of heart disease. This gratifying result emerges from the current heart report, which was presented on Tuesday by the German Heart Foundation and several professional societies in Berlin. Less mortality and an overall better care of heart patients, but also clear regional differences - so the central statement of the current Heart Report: „Mortality from heart disease is steadily declining in Germany, and older people are increasingly benefiting from the advances of modern cardiology. The cardiological care has already reached an excellent level and is getting better, but there are still regional cardiological differences that need to be worked on consistently“, Prof. Dr. Georg Ertl (Würzburg), President of the German Cardiac Society (DGK).

Fewer people with heart problems but more heart attack patients
The population in Germany is getting older, which suggests that more and more people are struggling with heart problems. But the numbers speak a different language: in fact, between 2000 and 2010, the number of patients hospitalized for a cardiological problem actually dropped slightly, at 0.3% fewer cases. Overall, the number of in-patient cardiac patients in 2010 was well over 1.5 million.

According to the report, however, a significant increase can be observed in patients with heart attacks: in the same period, the number of men increased by 32.5 percent and in women by 17 percent - although this development applies in particular to older people.

Nevertheless, far fewer people fall victim to an acute heart attack today than they were 10 years ago. In fact, in 2010, 55,541 people still died after an infarction (30,651 men and 24,890 women) - compared to the 10 years before, however, this meant a fall of 15.8 percent in men and 18.4 percent Percent in women.

More heart attacks with death in the East
Despite the overall decline in the number of fatal cardiac deaths, the report would continue to show clear regional differences. According to this, heart patients in the East have a much higher risk of falling victim to a heart attack than patients in the western federal states. The death toll in Saxony-Anhalt was highest, as it would register 111 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants per year, closely followed by Brandenburg with 101 and Saxony with 96 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. However, according to Prof Ertl, it should be noted here, „that the cardiological care situation in the new federal states is becoming more and more similar to that of the old federal states“ and states further: „Of course, we must work consistently to further optimize the supply of space in the new federal states.“

The lowest mortality rate after a heart attack prevails in Berlin (56 people per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Schleswig-Holstein and Hesse (57), Baden-Württemberg (59), Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia (62). According to the report, the number of deaths from an acute myocardial infarction has fallen in the last 30 years from around 92,800 in 1980 to 55,500 in 2010, with a significant decrease between 2000 and 2010 alone, as at the beginning of the millennium 81.8 persons per 100,000 inhabitants had died after a heart attack, the number was ten years later only at 67.9 deceased per 100,000 inhabitants. (Sb)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann