Impact of the Educational Level on Non-Fatal Health Outcomes following Myocardial Infarction.

Notwithstanding a decrease in the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases during the last decades, notable disparities in health outcomes depending on a patient´s socioeconomic position persist and are most visible in acute myocardial infarction and ischemic heart disease. Education is a pivotal indicator of the socioeconomic position. Effects of the social determinants of health on the incidence, prevalence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases were previously effectually investigated and shown to be inversely associated but evidence on non-fatal health outcomes such as heart failure, ability to return to work or rehospitalizations still remain insufficiently examined.

Contextualising the association of socioeconomic deprivation with hospitalisation rates of myocardial infarction in a rural area in eastern Germany.

Introduction: Evidence on the association of socioeconomic deprivation with occurrence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is available from international studies and urban settings in western Germany. This study aimed to assess this association based on small geographical areas in a rural setting in eastern Germany.

Methods: This study used routine data of all patients with AMI who were treated in the Hospital Brandenburg in the city of Brandenburg, Germany, between May 2019 and May 2020.