Obamacare is Linked to Fewer Heart Attacks [PSMag.com]

The current health-care debate is as serious as a heart attack. And if it ultimately results in fewer people having insurance, there's an excellent chance more Americans will suffer life-threatening cardiac arrest.

That's the clear implication of a pilot study just published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Focusing on Multnomah County, Oregon (which includes the city of Portland), it compared recorded cases of cardiac arrests over two time periods: immediately prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (2011–12) and just after (2014–15).

It found heart attack rates (excluding those experienced by hospitalized patients) decreased 17 percent among a key demographic: adults 45 to 64 years old. Among these middle-aged residents, the rate decreased from 102 per 100,000 people to 85 per 100,000 people.

In contrast, there was no significant change in the rate for people over 65, who were covered by Medicare during both time periods.

[For more of this story, written by Tom Jacobs, go to https://psmag.com/news/obamaca...-fewer-heart-attacks]