African Americans are not as likely as their white counterparts, even within the Veterans Affairs health system, to undergo heart bypass surgery or receive heart-protecting medicines, according to a Reuters news story.

The report was based on a study that gathered information from about 475,000 patients in the VA system and found that African Americans had lower rates of prescriptions for statins, which lower cholesterol, as well as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers used to treat high blood pressure. Black patients also were less likely than white patients to have had coronary bypass surgery, which reroutes blood flow around artery blockages in an effort to reduce heart attacks and angina.

Researchers were quoted as saying gaps in drug prescriptions and bypass may help explain why heart disease deaths are not declining as rapidly among African Americans compared with other racial groups in the U.S.

"It's likely this may be a result of the lesser use of these strategies," lead researcher Dr. Jawahar L. Mehta, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, told the news agency.
 

Sign up for our Weekly Email Newsletter Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Other Ways to Share Twitter Del.icio.us MySpace

Discussions and Submission Agreement