According to a study shared in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure earlier this week, Black people with heart failure are half as likely to receive a ventricular assist device, a mechanical heart pump, or a heart transplant as White people.
The first author, Dr. Thomas Cascino, shared in a press release that “The totality of our evidence suggests that us, as heart failure providers, are perpetuating inequities. However, recognizing disparities is not enough. As physicians and health care providers, we need to find ways to create equitable change.”
The research team looked into data on 377 American citizens receiving heart failure treatment between July of 2015 and June of 2016, 27 percent of which identified as Black.
This is how they learned that only 11 percent of the Black patients received a heart transplant or a ventricular assist device as opposed to the 22 percent of White patients who received the same life-saving services.
It is important to note that this was the case despite the fact that the death rates were similar in both – 18 percent in Black patients and 13 percent in White patients.
The researchers wrote that “This residual inequity might be a consequence of structural racism or provider bias impacting decision making.”
Other experts on this topic claim that this new finding is nothing but another confirmation of what many medical doctors have seen for many years.
For instance, associate professor from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Dr. Jaimin Trivedi, who was not directly involved in the research, simply stated that “I cannot say I’m surprised,” by the results.
Another expert who was not surprised is a cardiologist at Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta by the name of Dr. Dave Montgomery, who stated that:
“The study confirms what’s been known for way too long, which is that Black heart failure patients have worse outcomes, and part of the reason for the worse outcomes is a gradient in the quality of care that they are offered. While I’m not surprised to see the results of the study, I’m encouraged by the information that it provides. This data refute the idea that disparate heart failure outcomes have to do with things like the personal preferences of the patient. The problem isn’t indistinct and unapproachable, as we might have believed in the past. Instead, it shows the distinct inroad to better care for all.”
