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Awareness of Heart Attack Symptoms and Response Among Adults - United States, 2008, 2014, and 2017

Jing Fang1, Cecily Luncheon1, Carma Ayala1

  • 1Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.

MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
|December 19, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Awareness of heart attack symptoms and the importance of calling 9-1-1 has increased among U.S. adults. However, disparities persist, highlighting the need for expanded public health initiatives for heart attack response.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology
  • Health Behavior Research

Background:

  • Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., with heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) being a major contributor.
  • Timely recognition of heart attack symptoms and prompt emergency medical services (EMS) activation are critical for reducing mortality.
  • Previous studies indicated suboptimal public awareness of heart attack symptoms and the appropriate emergency response.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze trends in U.S. adults' awareness of common heart attack symptoms and their knowledge of calling 9-1-1.
  • To assess changes in awareness and response to apparent heart attacks between 2008 and 2017.
  • To identify demographic and risk-group disparities in heart attack symptom awareness.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the years 2008, 2014, and 2017.
  • Calculation of adjusted percentages for adults who could identify all five common heart attack symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1.
  • Examination of awareness disparities across various demographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk groups.

Main Results:

  • The percentage of U.S. adults aware of all five common heart attack symptoms increased from 39.6% in 2008 to 50.2% in 2017.
  • Knowledge of calling 9-1-1 for a suspected heart attack rose from 91.8% in 2008 to 94.9% in 2017.
  • Persistent disparities in symptom awareness were noted among different demographic and cardiovascular risk groups.

Conclusions:

  • Public awareness of heart attack symptoms and the importance of immediate emergency response has improved.
  • Despite progress, significant disparities in awareness persist, necessitating targeted public health interventions.
  • Expansion of health system-wide initiatives is recommended to enhance universal awareness and response to heart attacks.

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