Exploring Disparities in Mortality Rates Among Heart Failure Patients With Primary Diagnosis of Cardiac Arrest: A Nationwide Analysis of 2016-2020 Data

Abstract

Cardiac arrest is a dangerous threat to patients with heart failure. In this analysis, the authors aim to investigate the disparities between patients with heart failure who died with a diagnosis of cardiac arrest in terms of race, income, sex, hospital location, hospital size, hospital region, and insurance. Do social determinants of life impact cardiac arrest in patients with heart failure? A total of 8840 patients with heart failure who had a primary diagnosis of cardiac arrest, were admitted non-elective, were adults, and died during the admission were included in this study. A total of 215 (2.43%) patients had cardiac arrest due to cardiac cause, 95 (1.07%) had cardiac arrest due to other specified causes, and 8530 (96.49%) patients had cardiac arrest due to unspecified cause. The study group had a mean age of 69 years and had more males (53.91%). In terms of cardiac arrest due to any cause among adult patients with heart failure, the difference was significantly different in female patients (OR 0.83, p-value = 0.001, 95% CI 0.74-0.93), Black patients (OR 1.44, p-value < 0.001, 95% CI 1.25-1.67), Asian patients (OR 1.66, p-value = 0.002, 95% CI 1.20-2.29), Native American patients (OR 1.96, p-value = 0.022, 95% CI 1.10-3.48), other race patients (OR 1.59, p-value = 0.007, 95% CI 1.14-2.23), patients on hospital from south region (OR 1.59, p-value = 0.007, 95% CI 1.14-2.23), patients from large hospitals (OR 1.21, p-value = 0.015, 95% CI 1.04-1.41), and patients from teaching hospitals (OR1.19, p-value = 0.018, 95% CI 1.03-1.37). In terms of cardiac arrest due to cardiac cause among adult patients with heart failure, there was no significant difference in the variables analyzed. In terms of cardiac arrest due to other specified causes among adult patients with heart failure, the difference was significantly different in female patients (OR 0.19, p-value = 0.024, 95% CI 0.04-0.80), and urban-based hospitals (OR 0.10, p-value = 0.015, 95% CI 0.02-0.64). In terms of cardiac arrest due to unspecified causes among adult patients with heart failure, the difference was significantly different in female patients (OR 0.84, p-value = 0.004, 95% CI 0.75-0.95), Black patients (OR 1.46, p-value < 0.001, 95% CI 1.26-1.69), Asian patients (OR 1.60, p-value = 0.006, 95% CI 1.14-2.23), Native American patients (OR 2.06, p-value = 0.014, 95% CI 1.16-3.67), other race patients (OR 1.58, p-value = 0.010, 95% CI 1.12-2.23), patients on the hospital from the south region (OR 1.25, p-value = 0.014, 95% CI 1.05- 1.48), patients on the hospital from Midwest region (OR 1.22, p-value = 0.033, 95% CI 1.02-1.46), patients from large hospitals (OR 1.21, p-value = 0.016, 95% CI 1.04-1.41), patients from teaching hospitals (OR 1.18, p-value = 0.022, 95% CI 1.02-1.36), patients from urban hospitals (OR 1.37, p-value = 0.023, 95% CI 1.04-1.80). In conclusion, it is imperative for physicians to remain cognizant of health disparities while assessing patients to preempt bias during the evaluation process. The present analysis convincingly demonstrates the influence of gender, race, and hospital location on the incidence of cardiac arrest in individuals afflicted with heart failure. Nonetheless, the paucity of cases pertaining to cardiac arrest attributed to cardiac causes or other specified etiologies considerably compromises the analytical robustness for this particular subtype of cardiac arrest. Thus, further investigations are warranted to ascertain the underlying factors contributing to such disparities among patients with heart failure, while concurrently necessitating physicians' awareness regarding the potential existence of bias in their evaluative endeavors.