US builds racial bias among heart failure patients: Study
A study in Health Affairs highlights the deeply rooted structure of racism against Black people in the US.
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Americans were more likely to report racial and ethnic discrimination.
A study published Wednesday in the journal Circulation revealed that White people suffering from heart failure were twice as likely as Black patients to receive a heart transplant or a ventricular assist device, a mechanical heart pump commonly used for patients with end-stage heart failure.
Dr. Thomas Cascino, the study’s first author and a clinical instructor in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, said in a news release: “The totality of the evidence suggests that we as heart failure providers are perpetuating current inequities.”
“However, recognizing disparities isn’t enough. As physicians and healthcare providers, we must find ways to create equitable change,” he added.
Between July 2015 and June 2016, the researchers examined data on 377 adults being treated for heart failure in the United States, 27% of whom were Black.
According to the data, 11% of Black patients received a heart transplant or a ventricular assist device, compared to 22% of White patients, despite the fact that death rates were similar in both groups: 18% of Black patients and 13% of White patients.
Patients' preferences for ventricular assist devices, heart transplantation, or other therapies, according to the researchers, had no effect on the results.
“This residual inequity may be a consequence of structural racism and discrimination or provider bias impacting decision-making,” the researchers shouted out.
Racial discrimination at the core of US healthcare
A Commonwealth Fund released last April has found that elderly Americans were more likely to report racial and ethnic discrimination in the healthcare system than the elderly in 10 other affluent nations.
Twenty-five percent of Black persons over the age of 60 felt their health professional treated them unjustly or did not take their concerns seriously because of their race or ethnic origin.
According to the survey, black women in the US are nearly three times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy problems.
