Black heart patients receive less aggressive treatments, study says - care of African Americans with heart conditions - Brief Article

Jet, March 8, 1993

Blacks with heart conditions are far less likely than Whites to undergo such widely used procedures as cardiac catheterization, angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery, according to data released from a 26-month study involving nearly 31,000 heart attack patients in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system.

The reasons for the differences in treatment for Blacks and Whites are unclear, said Dr. Eric Peterson, who conducted the study along with three colleagues while on staff at the Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center in Massachusetts.

"There's been a lot of speculation about why these differences exist," said Dr. Peterson.

"It was thought that insurance coverage or financial status was a major factor," said Dr. Peterson. However, "we found this wasn't true. All our patients have equal access to treatment, but apparently more Black patients choose done, their physicians didn't prescribe these treatments as often for Blacks, or there are racial differences in disease severity."