Do not go breaking your heart: Do economic upturns really increase heart attack mortality?

Several recent papers in the literature have documented a pro-cyclical effect between business cycles and mortality. In this paper, I explore the relationship between business cycles and incidence, mortality and lethality in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Sweden. The sample consists of 21 Swedish regions during the period 1987–2003. Results from the panel data estimations indicate that the business cycle effect is insignificant on overall rates of incidence, mortality and lethality. However, a counter-cyclical and significant effect is found in most specifications for those in prime working age between 20 and 49. Hence, previous recent results from the literature cannot be taken as universal for other countries or settings. It is also shown that a higher share of women, highly educated and non-foreigners decrease incidence and mortality.