Even micro heart attacks are major problem

To understand the long-term impact of a mild heart attack, researchers retrospectively analyzed CMR imaging results for 179 patients who were admitted with symptoms of heart disease, who tested positive for elevated troponin (a key indicator of damage to the heart muscle), and who had partial blockage of one or more arteries in the heart (as shown by invasive angiography). The patients were divided into two groups based on the CMR analysis: those who had experienced a mild myocardial infarction, or heart attack (the MI group) and those who had not (the non-MI group).

The results showed that patients who had a mild heart attack (the MI group) were nearly three times as likely to experience a major cardiac event (like a heart attack, bypass surgery, or stroke) over the long-term as those in the non-MI group. Additionally, the most frequent cause of death for individuals in the MI group was heart-related. "Using CMR acutely, when an individual is first admitted with heart-attack-like symptoms, provides unique information that can guide treatment decisions and aid in prognosis," states Robert Schwartz, MD, FACC, FAHA, who will present the team's research at ACC. "Our research shows that secondary prevention is vitally important for patients who've experienced mild heart attacks, as determined by acute CMR analysis."