Redlining contributes to higher rates of heart failure risk amongst Black adults in the U.S., according to a new study.
Recently published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, the study was funded by divisions of the National Institutes of Health and the Cleveland Clinic. To conduct the study, researchers looked at the information of over two million adults in the Medicare Beneficiary Summary Files submitted between 2014 and 2019.
Looking at their addresses, the researchers located the redlined areas and split the zip codes into four groups that measured which areas dealt with the discriminatory practice the most. Redlining refers to the form of racial discrimination from the 1930s that denied loans and insurance to BIPOC Americans when purchasing homes outside of certain areas.
Overall, the participants were mainly women, making up nearly 56% of the study’s demographics with a mean age of 71 years.
In their results, the analysts found that Black adults who lived in areas with the most historic redlining had an eight percent increase in the risk of developing heart failure when compared to those who lived in places with lower levels of redlining.
Meanwhile, white Americans had no change in risk of heart failure even when living in places with high levels of redlining. Although the practice was deemed illegal with the passage of 1968, the release of the study highlights the continued impact redlining still has.
According to the American Heart Association, along with the new findings, redlining has also been previously found to contribute to higher risks of hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes amongst Black Americans.
“This careful and systematic analysis underscores the higher heart failure risk faced by Black adults residing in historically redlined areas, and provides evidence that social determinants of health, such as poverty, education, and access to healthy food, drive this risk,” said Mitchell Elkind, M.D., the American Heart Association’s Chief Clinical Science Officer, per a statement. “The study serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing impact of structural racism and emphasizes the urgent need for restorative actions and targeted investments to promote health equity.”
Overall, Black Americans are the most affected by heart disease. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Black Americans were 30% more likely to pass away from heart failure in 2019 than any other racial or ethnic group. Black Americans are also 30% more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and are less likely to have it under control.
Amongst the disparities that contribute to these higher rates are differences in income, wealth and socioeconomic factors, according to the American Heart Association.
