Black and Hispanic heart attack patients are less likely to survive on account of being treated at hospitals that don’t guarantee favorable patient outcomes, according to a new study.
In a new study released by the American Heart Association, researchers conducted a national study, evaluating health records spanning seven years from the Cardiac Arrest Registry Enhance Survival.
Collecting the information of approximately 125,000 people, approximately 90,034 patients were from predominantly white neighborhoods, while 20,600 patients and 12,338 patients were from predominantly Black and Hispanic communities respectively.
In their analysis, researchers found that, while patients from predominantly white neighborhoods were treated at top hospitals nearly 31% of the time, Black patients were treated at top hospitals only seven percent of the time. People from Hispanic neighborhoods were only treated at top care facilities five percent of the time.
Consequently, Black patients and Hispanic patients had a harder time recovering following a heart attack. Only 19.7% of Black patients had a positive recovery experience, while 22.1% of Hispanic and 33.5% of white patients had positive outcomes. When admitted to a top hospital, the outcomes improved by 25% for Black patients and Hispanic patients.
“We already know that the rate of survival is lower for Black and Hispanic people who experience an out of hospital cardiac arrest, in part because we know they are less likely to receive bystander CPR,” said Comilla Sasson, M.D., vice president for health science at AHA. “This research identifies another critical gap in the care they receive.”
Overall, Black Americans are more likely to have cardiovascular health issues with fatal outcomes. According to the American Heart Association, Black adults are over two times more likely to pass away from cardiovascular disease.
Black women specifically compromise a high amount of heart disease patients. Per Go Red For Women, over 50,000 Black women pass away each year from heart disease, making cardiovascular disease the leading cause of death. Amongst Black women aged 20 and older, almost 59% of the women have cardiovascular disease.
Contributing to these high rates of cardiovascular health issues are increased rates of high blood pressure. Approximately 58% of Black women aged 20 and up have high blood pressure. Out of these women, only 20% have the proper treatment to control their health issues.
A variety of resources exist for Black patients with cardiovascular disease.
Nonprofits such as the Black Heart Association and the Association of Black Cardiologists are all dedicated to the good health of Black Americans by working towards eliminating disparities that exist in the health world through providing care and information.
