Cardiac arrests affect around 350,000 people in Europe each year with less than 20% surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest. Research from Amsterdam UMC shows that women who survive consequently have greater rates of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, both men and women are affected by negative population-wide changes in socioeconomic status as they age. Suggesting more support is necessary for those who have suffered a cardiac arrest. These results are published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes.
“While we need to carry out more research to understand exactly why this happens, we can already say that it shows that particularly women are not adequately supported after a cardiac arrest,” adds Smits.
The research group analyzed the five-year socioeconomic data of 1250 individuals, with an average age of 53, who had survived an out of hospital cardiac arrest in the Netherlands. Alongside the aforementioned changes in mental health, the research also saw that the employment trends that also affect the general population as they age through their 50s were also present in this group.