Aug 25, 2014 04:55 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Young women heart attack survivors are associated with worse health outcomes than men, according to a study by Yale School of Medicine.

For the study, the researchers followed more than 230,000 patients who were diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), aged between 30 and 54 years, from 2001 to 2010.

The researchers found that although hospitalization rates were higher among men, hospitalized women stayed admitted for a longer durantion, had more comorbidities, and higher in-hospital mortality rates than men.      

"It is concerning that hospitalization rates for heart attack in the young have not shown any reduction, suggesting that lack of awareness and poorer control of cardiovascular risk factors - including diabetes, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, and smoking may be responsible," said Aakriti Gupta, a resident at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author on this paper, in a statement.

A recent Emory University study found that young and middle-aged depressed women are twice more likely to suffer a heart attack or premature death as compared to those who are not sad.

The researchers said that doctors should be aware of the link as depression puts adults at an increased risk of developing heart problems. They also said that underlying depression could explain lower survival rates among women aged 55 years and younger as compared to men.

"Women in this age group are also more likely to have depression, so this may be one of the "hidden" risk factors that can help explain why women die at a disproportionately higher rate than men after a heart attack," said Dr Amit Shah, study author and assistant professor of Epidemiology, in a press release.

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