Patients who experience an adverse change in employment—such as being laid off—after a heart attack reportedly have a lower quality of life, increased depression and more difficulty affording medications, according to a study published in Circulation on June 12.
The researchers, led by Haider J. Warraich, MD, of the Duke University Medical Center and Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, North Carolina, examined data from more than 9,300 heart attack patients enrolled in the TRANSLATE-ACS Study at 233 U.S. hospitals between April 2010 and October 2012.
They found 51 percent of patients were employed at the time of their heart attack. One-year post baseline:
- 90 percent of the cohort was back at work.
- 10 percent, or 492 people, reported an adverse change in employment, of which 3 percent were working less and 7 percent were no longer working.
- Only 27 people of the 349 reported entering retirement.
- 172 patients reported involuntary job loss, such as a lay off.
The researchers found patients who experienced an adverse change in employment after their heart attack were more likely to be women, have diabetes, hypertension, and use tobacco, than patients who continued working as before. They were also more likely to have a recurrent heart attack, unplanned revascularization, stroke and bleeding complications.
“Social determinants of health are strongly linked to the risk of heart disease, with employment – or the lack of employment – being one of the most significant,” Warraich said in a statement. “Job loss significantly interacts with other psychosocial factors such as depression and health status.”
Of the 10 percent of patients who had an adverse change in employment, more people reported lower quality of life, increased rates of depression and financial difficulties. They were also less like to be able to pay for their medications.
About 41 percent of patients working less or not at all post-heart attack reported moderate to extreme financial hardship. The researchers also found that people readmitted to the hospital after a heart attack were less likely to return.
“These findings help us identify patients at high risk of not returning to work,” Warraich said. “This can help us focus our resources on, for example, patients readmitted after a heart attack, as a way of targeting those at most risk of not returning to work.”
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.