People who visit the hospital over the weekend are at a greater risk of dying from a heart attack than those who go on weekdays, a new study has found. The greater risk is attributed to lesser hospital staff on the weekend that leads to a patient missing crucial treatments or having those treatments delayed.

Because of reduced staffing, weekend patients have waited longer for angioplasty and other procedures meant for heart patients. While that translates to only a roughly 5 percent increase in risk, it could potentially lead to thousands of additional deaths in the United States each year.

According to reports, the researchers studied nearly a quarter-million first-time heart attack patients in New Jersey and looked at trends over four-year periods. It was found that patients admitted on a weekend were about 7.5 percent more likely to die within a month than those admitted on a weekday.

When other factors such as age and other medical problems were accounted for, the death rate was still 5 percent higher for those admitted on weekends. Lead researcher, medical student William J. Kostis adds that the weekend patients were at least one-third less likely to get angioplasty or bypass surgery on time as compared with weekdays.