Health Disparities

Health disparities have the largest impact on the access, quality of care and outcomes overall in many patient populations defined by factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, education level, income, disability, geographic location. Many other factors also play a role, including if a patient is in a rural of urban location, distances to hospitals, pharmacies and clinics. These factors of inequitable access or healthcare are often directly related to the historical and ongoing unequal distribution of social, political, economic, and environmental resources. This page includes content defining health disparities and efforts to address them.

High cost of cardiac amyloidosis drugs may limit access for low-income patients
"We cannot accept a system where only those with means can benefit from life-changing drugs. We are a wealthy nation that spends trillions on healthcare. We must ensure that income and wealth do not determine access," explained JACC Editor-in-Chief Harlan M. Krumholz, MD.
Researchers use wearable fitness trackers to monitor sleep, CVD risk
A new two-year study is focused on the potential of using commercially available fitness trackers to identify patients who may face an increased risk of CVD.
AHA expands efforts to spread the word about CKM syndrome
This is a rapidly growing area of interest in cardiology as research continues to find close links between heart disease and kidney disease.
How anti-DEI healthcare policies are impacting patient care
All over the United States, countless research projects designed to improve outcomes have lost funding or been shut down. Even screening efforts targeting patients in impoverished communities have been impacted by these policies.
AMA deeply concerned about Trump policies and cuts to healthcare spending
American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, has expressed major concerns about significant healthcare spending cuts proposed by the Trump administration. These include reductions to Medicaid, deep cuts to NIH funding, staffing reductions, and policy changes at key federal agencies.

The central illustration from a study that shows the impact of ECG AI algorithm study case and control selection to train artificial intelligence to better screening patients for cardiac amyloidosis. Image courtesy of JACC Advances.

Using ECG AI to find the cardiac amyloidosis needles in the haystack

Early detection of cardiac amyloidosis is leads to the best outcomes, but it is often missed until later stages. AI is being developed to help detect these patients earlier using ECG and echo.

physician tracking patient data and reporting on outcomes

Q&A: Cardiologist Karen Joynt Maddox on why new healthcare policies are not improving outcomes

Healthcare's ongoing shift toward value-based care is a good thing, Joynt Maddox explained, but its implementation has been far from ideal. She also discussed population health, the pandemic, health disparities and the rising influence of private equity investments.

Newsweek ranked the 50 best heart hospitals in the world

3 in 5 US adults projected to have CVD by 2050, with a price tag of $1.8T—can cardiologists ‘turn the tide’?

More than 60% of adults in the United States are expected to have at least one form of cardiovascular disease by 2050, according to new data published by the American Heart Association. Fortunately, evidence does suggest that healthier lifestyles are starting to become more common as time goes on.

Leftr, Pedro Martinez-Clark, MD, FSCAI, interventional cardiologist, founder and medical director of Amavita Heart and Vascular Health during a PAD intervention. Right, an ultrasound evaluation of PAD in the legs. Amavita recently launched the Miami Initiative to Stop Amputation (MISA) to tackle the rising rates of amputations due to peripheral artery disease (PAD), in Latin, Haitian and Black communities in the Miami area. Photos courtesy of Amavita Heart and Vascular Health

Rising amputation rates spark new PAD initiative in Miami

"When you think about the rise of amputations in a country like the United States, that's concerning because it should not be happening here," one interventional cardiologist said.

Medicaid insurer pledges to help build $900M in new affordable housing units

Centene is partnering with developer McCormack Baron Salzar to build the new units in eight states.

Women remain underrepresented in revascularization trials—can cardiology leaders reverse that trend?

“If together we do not just hope for, but demand, adequate representation as a necessary criterion for high-quality studies worthy of adoption into practice, we will have a real shot at achieving true equity in our trials," cardiologists said in a new commentary.

Cloud-based platforms could expand teleradiology access to tens of thousands of patients in need

Dedicated teleradiology services could expand quality healthcare in regions where access and staffing shortages hinder patient care the most.

Faluso Fakorede, MD, interventional cardiologiost, explains how health disparities serve as a primary driver of 400 amputations a day because patients are not accessing healthcare.

Health disparities are causing serious harm, leading to 400 amputations per day

Interventional cardiologist Foluso Fakorede, MD, says everything from limited specialists to a lack of sidewalks are causing a disproportionate rate of minorities to be caught in the current PAD and CLI epidemic.

Health Disparities

High cost of cardiac amyloidosis drugs may limit access for low-income patients

Researchers use wearable fitness trackers to monitor sleep, CVD risk

AHA expands efforts to spread the word about CKM syndrome

How anti-DEI healthcare policies are impacting patient care

AMA deeply concerned about Trump policies and cuts to healthcare spending