Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease

People’s race can grant additional privileges to certain populations at the exclusion of others worldwide, and it is rooted in the development of United States’ (U.S.) health structures and healthcare delivery systems. Structural racism is a public health crisis in the U.S. as well as worldwide, and has led to a disproportionate rate of disease among people from various racial and ethnic groups.

Studies have shown that, in the last decade, cardiovascular disease (CVD) became one of the primary reasons for mortality and morbidity in the Middle East, representing 50 percent of deaths worldwide. These numbers are expected to continue to rise in the next few years. CVD is more likely to occur in younger age groups in developing countries. CVD was estimated to account for almost half of the deaths in Oman and Kuwait. The rate of CVD deaths was also high in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar. Prominent research, such as the Gulf RACE and INTERHEART study, has found that patients in the Middle East encounter heart attacks at a significantly younger age, on an average 10 to 12 years earlier compared to their Western counterparts. While genetics may have played a part, rapid socioeconomic growth in the Middle East countries has led to a change in lifestyle compounding this issue. Slow adjustments to widespread public healthcare policies have also contributed to the alarming occurrence of cardiac risk factors and their associated illness and death.

In Europe, CVD causes more deaths among Europeans than any other condition, and still causes more than twice as many deaths as cancer in many countries. In 2017, there were 11.3 million in-patients with diseases of the circulatory system discharged from hospitals across the EU.

In India, CVD affects Indians at least a decade earlier. The Global Burden of Disease study estimates the age-standardized CVD death rate of 272 per 100-thousand population in India is higher than the global average of 235 per 100-thousand population. Some aspects of the CVD epidemic in India are particular causes of concern, including its accelerated buildup, the early age of disease onset in the population, and the high case fatality rate.

All over the world, different treatments for CVD are available for patients, creating many disparities. Many different minorities may receive different treatment for CVD fully based on where they live.

[No sources were listed by the author.]