Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 1;36(3):320-328.
doi: 10.1097/HCO.0000000000000855.

Racial and ethnic disparities in heart failure: current state and future directions

Sabra C Lewsey  1 , Khadijah Breathett  2
Affiliations
Review

Racial and ethnic disparities in heart failure: current state and future directions

Sabra C Lewsey et al. Curr Opin Cardiol. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review discusses the current state of racial and ethnic inequities in heart failure burden, outcomes, and management. This review also frames considerations for bridging disparities to optimize quality heart failure care across diverse communities.

Recent findings: Treatment options for heart failure have diversified and overall heart failure survival has improved with the advent of effective pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies. With increased recognition, some racial/ethnic disparity gaps have narrowed whereas others in heart failure outcomes, utilization of therapies, and advanced therapy access persist or worsen.

Summary: Racial and ethnic minorities have the highest incidence, prevalence, and hospitalization rates from heart failure. In spite of improved therapies and overall survival, the mortality disparity gap in African American patients has widened over time. Racial/ethnic inequities in access to cardiovascular care, utilization of efficacious guideline-directed heart failure therapies, and allocation of advanced therapies may contribute to disparate outcomes. Strategic and earnest interventions considering social and structural determinants of health are critically needed to bridge racial/ethnic disparities, increase dissemination, and implementation of preventive and therapeutic measures, and collectively improve the health and longevity of patients with heart failure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Foundations of Equity in HF Care
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Virani SS, Alonso A, Benjamin EJ, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2020 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. March 2020;141(9):e139–e596. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000757 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Heidenreich PA, Albert NM, Allen LA, et al. Forecasting the impact of heart failure in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circ Heart Fail. May 2013;6(3):606–19. doi:10.1161/HHF.0b013e318291329a - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, Smedley BD, Stith AY, Nelson AR, editors. Unequal treatment: confronting racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2003. - PubMed
    1. Yancy CW. Race-based therapeutics. Curr Hypertens Rep. August 2008;10(4):276–85. doi:10.1007/s11906-008-0052-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bonham VL, Warshauer-Baker E, Collins FS. Race and ethnicity in the genome era: the complexity of the constructs. Am Psychol. January 2005;60(1):9–15. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.1.9 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types