Study of Over 1 Million People Reveals Heart Attacks Can Reduce Parkinson's Risk

Parkinson's disease can have devastating effects, but scientists are still trying to figure out how it gets started and how to cure it.

New research may have found that having a heart attack can lower the risk of Parkinson's later.

The risk of having a heart attack is 20 percent lower for patients who had one between 1995 and 2016 compared with the control group.

The chance of developing parkinsonism, which brings on the same sort of movement difficulties and other symptoms as Parkinson's, isn't included in this study. For a maximum of 21 years, researchers followed study participants.

The risk of Parkinson's appears to be decreased in these patients, according to the first author of the new paper.

It is the first time research has looked at Parkinson's disease risk in heart attack survivors, and it is still early days for figuring out why the risk is lowered. It is possible that the answer to this relationship lies in the complex set of risk factors that both heart attacks and Parkinson's have.

Smoking, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes have previously been associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease, so these links may be driving the results.

Other risk factors are the same. People who drink more coffee and are more active are less likely to have a heart attack.

A new study gives doctors more guidance on where to focus their attention after a heart attack.

The results show that cardiac rehabilitation should be focused on preventing strokes and other cardiovascular diseases, such as a new heart attack and heart failure.

It would seem that a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism is a result of a heart attack. This research used a large sample and it was mostly white, so more studies are needed to make sure.

Future research needs to consider the impact of smoking and high cholesterol levels on the relationship between heart attack survivors and a reduced risk of Parkinson's.

The finding of a lower risk of Parkinson's disease was somewhat surprising, as we have previously found that following a heart attack, the risk of brain damage is increased.

The Journal of the American Heart Association has published the research.