A new study shows Black Americans are diagnosed with heart failure nearly 14 years earlier than white Americans, with social and structural factors, such as education, insurance access and neighborhood resources, playing a major role.
“Heart failure is defined as the inability of the heart, for various reasons, to get enough blood and oxygen around to the vital organs,” said Sudip Saha, assistant chief of cardiology for the Mid-Atlantic Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, in Northern Virginia.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2023, heart failure was mentioned on 452,573 death certifications, and was responsible for 14.6% of all deaths.
The study, “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Patient Age at First Hospitalization for Heart Failure,” found Black patients were hospitalized almost 14 years earlier, and Hispanic patients more than eight years earlier than their white counterparts.
The study analyzed more than 42,000 patients and was published in September in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
“They found it might have been due to various reasons, such as access to insurance, socioeconomic factors, the areas that they live, access to simple health care screening tools, like appointments, blood pressure monitoring, diabetes care,” Saha said.
If those conditions aren’t managed, “Over time they develop the symptoms of heart failure, such as fluid retention, shortness of breath with activities they were once able to do,” Saha said.
“Unfortunately, for some people, it can be progressive and can lead to death sooner.”
Saha said access to basic medical care can head-off heart failure.
“One of the more common reasons in the U.S. is uncontrolled high blood pressure over time, which is why it’s really important to get regular screening and check with your primary care doctor,” Saha said. “If you do have high blood pressure, make sure it’s treated either with diet or with medicines.”
However, Saha said the “heart gap” can begin early, with people who aren’t receiving appropriate screening and prevention guidance.
“Unfortunately, they’re developing this debilitating illness, heart failure, at young ages — less than 60, for example, on average for African Americans,” Saha said.
Doctors and medical professionals can play a role in attempting to eliminate the gap, according to Saha.
“Let’s try to get all of our patients on appropriate blood pressure medications if they need it,” he said. “If they’re developing diabetes, let’s create a diet plan to make sure that it doesn’t progress or get them on medications. Making sure if they have cholesterol that we’re either doing diet changes or putting them on medicines to prevent things like stroke and heart attack.”