Each year, about 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack (also called myocardial infarction). In 2022, 5.8% of Massachusetts residents ages 35 and older reported ever having a heart attack.
Obesity, smoking, and high cholesterol are well known to increase the risk of heart attack. However, researchers have found air pollutants, like particulate matter, can also increase risk. This is especially true for people over age 65 and those with pre-existing conditions.
Heart disease was the second leading cause of death in Massachusetts in 2021. The Indigenous population had the highest mortality rate from heart disease that same year. This is in line with numbers seen nationwide. Indigenous populations are disproportionately more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards. They also often live with lower income and have no or low quality health insurance. This is due to a history of racism, discrimination, and inequitable policies. These factors, along with others like smoking, increase risk of disease. The same factors also create barriers to healthcare access and preventive medicine. In Massachusetts, heart disease is also common among people with low-income, regardless of race.
You can use the display to review heart attack hospitalization rates for any city or town in Massachusetts.
What is a heart attack?
A heart attack occurs when the blood that brings oxygen to the heart is greatly reduced or cut off completely. This most often happens if fat, cholesterol, or plaque builds up and narrows the arteries that bring blood to the heart (called coronary heart disease).
Heart attack is one severe outcome of heart disease and can be fatal. They can also lead to serious illness, disability, and reduced wellbeing. Heart attack survivors can experience fatigue, depression, and difficulty being physically active.
Visit the DPH Heart Disease Prevention and Control’s What is a Heart Attack? page for more information, including signs and symptoms.
Who is at risk of a heart attack?
There are many factors that can contribute to an increased risk of heart attack. Learn more in the sections below. Additional information on risk factors is available from the American Heart Association.
Health
Health conditions that can increase the risk of a heart attack include:
- High blood pressure or preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy)
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes or high blood sugar
- Smoking
- Obesity or being overweight
- Lack of physical activity
- Family history of early heart disease (father or brother diagnosed with coronary artery disease before age 55 or a mother or sister diagnosed with coronary artery disease begore age 65)
Age
The risk of a heart attack begins to increase for men at age 45 and women at age 55 (or after menopause).
Environment
Exposure to secondhand smoke (also known as environmental tobacco smoke) can cause harmful health effects, including coronary heart disease. Even brief exposure can affect a person’s blood and damage blood vessels, increasing the risk of having a heart attack.
Research shows that exposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with an increased risk of heart attack. The outdoor air pollutant most linked to heart attacks is particulate matter. Those who may be particularly vulnerable include the elderly, those with pre-existing heart disease, survivors of heart attack, and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) provides a map of the Air Quality Index (AQI) which tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. At the MassDEP MassAir Online website, you can browse air quality data that is monitored at various AQI sites throughout Massachusetts and learn about associated health implications. Historic particulate matter data is also available on the MA EPHT – Fine Particles (PM2.5) webpage.
Climate change is also increasing the number of very hot days. Increased heat and other aspects of climate change can also affect air quality. This can increase the risk of hospital visits for people with chronic heart disease.
Social determinants of health
Our health is impacted by the social determinants of health (SDoH). These are the social, economic, and physical factors where we work, live and play.
Historic injustices have made low-income communities and communities of color more likely to live near environmental hazards. These include toxic waste sites and areas with high air pollution. As a result, people in these communities experience increased risk of heart attack. Heart attack is one of four Vulnerable Health Environmental Justice criteria included in Massachusetts’ Environmental Justice Policy.
Populations with lower household incomes or lower levels of education are also disproportionately exposed to secondhand smoke. Children are especially at risk of harm from secondhand smoke. To learn more, visit the CDC’s Health effects of secondhand smoke webpage.
How can you reduce your risk of having a heart attack?
A healthy lifestyle can help maintain normal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels - lowering your risk of heart disease and heart attack. Heart-healthy habits include:
- Choosing healthy meals that include plenty of vegetables
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Being physically active every day – for ideas on how to stay active, visit Mass in Motion
- Quitting smoking – for help, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit mass.gov/quitting
- Limiting alcohol consumption
- Managing diabetes
- Reducing stress
Learn more from the American Heart Association on how to reduce your risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular-related illnesses.
Why does MA EPHT track heart attack hospitalizations?
MA EPHT tracks heart attack hospitalizations by using data collected by hospitals to estimate the number and rate of people who were admitted to the hospital due to heart attack. Tracking allows us to discover trends and patterns in heart attack hospitalizations and learn more about possible effects of environmental conditions.
Available data
Use the Explore heart attack hospitalization data link on this page to access the following measures:
- Annual number of hospitalizations / ED visits
- Annual crude rate per 100,000 population
- Annual age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population
- Explore data in tables, charts, and maps
MA EPHT presents case counts and crude rates on heart attack hospital admissions for the following geographies: city/town, county, EP region, EOHHS region, and statewide. Measures are offered by a combination of year, age group, and sex. The most current data available is shown. Be sure to check the site periodically as new data is added. To protect privacy, no information is shown that could potentially identify an individual.
Additional resources
Massachusetts
- DPH Bureau of Community Health and Prevention - Heart Disease Prevention and Control: Learn about heart disease, heart attacks, and reducing high blood pressure
National
- American Heart Association: Information on heart attacks, including warning signs, risk factors, and treatment
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Fact sheets and handouts about heart attacks as well as information on how to participate in a clinical trial or study
- CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) prevalence and trends data: Prevalence and trends data by location and topic, including cardiovascular disease
- CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention: Supports programs to help Americans control their blood pressure and reduce other risk factors for heart disease and stroke
- Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) Healthy People 2030: National objectives to improve health, including reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke
- CDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) for heart disease and stroke: Information on heart disease and the environment as well as tools for searching national data
- EPA - Particulate matter (PM) pollution: Information on particulate matter and how PM standards are set and implemented