Research shows that ethnic minority patients with heart failure are more than a third more likely to die than their white counterparts.
The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Birmingham and supported by the British Heart Foundation, looked at data from more than 16,700 people from twelve existing clinical trials for patients with heart failure.
Eleven of these studies tested the effect of beta blockers, while the remainder examined the medication spironolactone.
The researchers’ analysis found that patients from minority ethnic backgrounds had a 36% higher risk of death after an average of 17 months, compared with their white counterparts.
People from ethnic minorities who also had atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder, were more than twice as likely to die during the 17-month follow-up period.
The study found that beta blockers, which are often prescribed for heart failure, could reduce deaths among white patients by almost a third. Ethnic patients were inconclusive.
The researchers also noted that 89% of patients in the study were white, highlighting the underrepresentation of ethnic minority patients in clinical trials.
Previous research has shown that patients who are female, black, Asian or less affluent are significantly less likely to need heart valve surgery on the NHS in England.
Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, British Heart Foundation associate professor and consultant cardiologist, said the new study highlights the “major health inequalities in how heart failure outcomes can vary depending on a patient’s ethnicity”.
“Although this study was observational and cannot tell us anything about cause and effect, it found that patients from minority ethnic backgrounds were sicker and more likely to die from their heart failure than others,” she said.
“If we are to close this gap, it is crucial that we better understand the barriers to accessing care faced by people from minority ethnic backgrounds. It is also important that research is representative of those affected by cardiovascular disease, to ensure that tests and treatments can benefit those who need them.
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“If you have been prescribed medications for heart failure, it is important to take them as recommended by your doctor.”
Sebastian Fox, a medical student at the University of Birmingham and co-lead author of the study, said: “It is vital that steps are taken to close this worrying gap in heart failure treatment and outcomes.
“The most important thing we can do in the future is to include more patients from ethnic minorities in trials of treatments for heart failure. Otherwise, we risk drawing inappropriate conclusions that treatments are equally effective for different ethnicities.”
