Silent Myocardial Infarction Increases Risk for Heart Failure

Even though silent myocardial infarctions (MIs) are said to account for about half of all MIs, there are still questions about their prognostic significance. Investigators from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study had previously shown that silent MI, as indicated by the appearance of Q-wave abnormalities on electrocardiography, was associated with a higher risk for all-cause death. In a new study, the investigators focus on the association of silent MI with heart failure in 9243 study participants with a mean age of 54; 57% were women, and 20% were black.

At a median of 13 years of follow-up, 976 cases of heart failure were diagnosed. The incidence rate of heart failure, per 1000 person-years, was 7.8 for those without an MI,…