Hospital Survival
Differs Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Heart Failure Patients Depending on
Heart Function
DALLAS,
March 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The odds of surviving their hospital stay
for heart failure differ between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white patients
according to their level of heart function, even when they received equal care
in hospitals participating in the American Heart Association's Get With The
Guidelines(R)--Heart Failure quality improvement program, researchers said.
The study, published in the American Heart
Association journal, Circulation: Heart Failure, is the first in which
researchers compare the care and outcomes of Hispanic to non-Hispanic heart
failure patients admitted to U.S. hospitals with either preserved (normal) or
reduced heart function.
"Hispanics have multiple risk factors for
heart failure and many face barriers to receiving health care," said Rey
P. Vivo, M.D., lead author of the study and a fellow in the Division of
Cardiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and the
Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Houston, Texas. "Hispanics
make up the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority in the United States.
Yet, we know very little about the quality and results of care for Hispanic
heart failure patients."
Researchers reviewed data from 247 U.S.
hospitals in the Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure program in 2005-2010.
They divided Hispanic and non-Hispanic white patients into groups based on
preserved or reduced ejection fraction.
Ejection fraction measures a heart's contracting
ability by how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each heartbeat.
Heart failure patients with reduced heart function have lower than normal
ejection fraction measures.
The researchers found:
· Among patients with
preserved (normal) heart function, Hispanic patients were 50 percent less
likely than non-Hispanic whites to die during their hospital stays.
· There were no
differences in hospital survival between Hispanic and non-Hispanic heart
failure patients with reduced heart function.
· There were no major
differences in quality of care among any Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites,
regardless of heart function.
· The quality of care at
Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure hospitals improved consistently during
the five years of the study.
"One possible reason for the survival
difference between heart failure patients with preserved heart function is that
Hispanics tend to be younger and may not be as sick as hospitalized white heart
failure patients," Vivo said. "That could be because Hispanics are
more likely to have inadequate or no health insurance. So, they are more likely
to go to the hospital for their care, versus seeking care in doctors' offices
or outpatient clinics."
The finding that hospitals improved their
adherence to quality of care guidelines for all heart failure patients,
regardless of ethnic background, is encouraging, according to Vivo.
"The
study suggests that participation in quality of care initiatives, such as Get
With The Guidelines, is a positive step toward reduction in healthcare
disparities, in terms of delivering quality of care to all heart failure
patients," he said.
In future studies, researchers should focus on
what happens to heart failure patients from diverse ethnic groups after they
leave the hospital, such as looking at readmission rates for six months or one
year, Vivo said.
Co-authors are Selim R. Krim, M.D.; Nassim R.
Krim, M.D.; Xin Zhao, M.S.; Adrian F. Hernandez, M.D., M.H.S.; Eric D.
Peterson, M.D., M.P.H.; Ileana L. Piña, M.D., M.P.H.; Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D.,
M.P.H.; Lee H. Schwamm, M.D.; and Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D.
Author
disclosures are on the manuscript. The Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure
program is provided by the American Heart Association and is currently
supported in part by Medtronic and Ortho-McNeil and has been funded in the past
through support from GlaxoSmithKline.
Statements and conclusions of study authors
published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of
the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association's policy or
position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy
or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals;
foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers
and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs
and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships
from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device
corporations are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.
SOURCE:
American Heart Association
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