July 7 (BTA) – In 2019, Bulgaria’s non-standardized hospital case fatality rate for a heart attack (myocardial infarction) stood at 7.7 per cent with 11,644 hospitalizations, compared to 7.3 per cent with 11,908 hospitalizations in 2018, show data from health institutions in the country analysed within the Hospital Index joint initiative of Gallup International and clinica.bg. The rate varied three-fold across Bulgaria’s 28 regions, ranging from 14.3 per cent with 84 hospitalizations in Turgovishte Region to 4.5 per cent with 331 hospitalizations in Montana Region. Compared to 2018, the case fatality rate for heart attack hospitalizations across Bulgaria changed by several percentage points for some regions. In Turgovishte and Smolyan, it increased by nearly 5.9 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, while in Dobrich it dropped by 3.4 per cent. Among the possible reasons for the case mortality rate varying between regions is the population’s age structure, access to and quality of medical care, the experts comment. In 2019, Bulgaria had a total of 58 catheterization labs located in 24 regions. The severity of the cases is also a factor that influences the outcome of heart attack hospitalizations. According to data of the National Health Insurance Fund for 2019, 76 per cent of the 11,644 hearth attack hospitalizations were registered as most urgent. Additional factors include the time it takes the patient to reach the hospital, the number and qualification of the hospital staff, as well as the treatment applied, but public information on these is currently unavailable, the Hospital Index initiative notes. NV/DS //
(NW) Bulgaria’s 2019 Case Fatality Rate for Hearth Attack Hospitalizations Varies Three-fold Across Regions
