Studies have shown that ethnic minority patients with heart failure are more than a third more likely to die than white patients.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Birmingham and supported by the British Heart Foundation, looked at data from more than 16,700 people from 12 existing clinical trials in heart failure patients.
Eleven of these trials tested the effects of beta-blockers, and the remaining one examined a drug called spironolactone.
The researchers’ analysis found that patients from ethnic minorities had a 36% higher risk of dying after an average of 17 months compared with white patients.
Ethnic minority people who had atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) were more than twice as likely to die during the 17-month follow-up period.
Beta-blockers, commonly prescribed for heart failure, could reduce death rates in white patients by almost a third, but mortality rates in ethnic minority patients were inconclusive, according to the study.
The researchers also noted that 89% of patients in the study were white, highlighting the underrepresentation of ethnic minority patients in clinical research.
Previous research has shown that women, black and Asian people and less affluent patients are significantly less likely to receive heart valve surgery on the NHS in England.
Dr Sonia Babu Narayan, deputy medical director at the British Heart Foundation and cardiologist, said the new research highlighted “clear health disparities in how heart failure outcomes vary depending on patient ethnicity”.
“Although this is an observational study and we cannot establish causality, it does show that patients from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to suffer from heart failure and die than other patients,” she said.
“To close this gap, it is essential that we have a better understanding of the barriers people from ethnic minority backgrounds face in accessing healthcare. It is also important that research is representative of people living with cardiovascular disease to ensure testing and treatment benefits those who need it.”
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“If you have been prescribed medication to treat heart failure, it is important to take it as directed by your doctor.”
“It is vital that steps are taken to close this alarming gap in heart failure treatment and outcomes,” said Sebastian Fox, a medical student at the University of Birmingham and co-lead author of the study.
“The most important thing we can do going forward is to include more ethnic minority patients in clinical trials of heart failure treatments. Otherwise we risk drawing inappropriate conclusions that treatments are equally effective across different ethnicities.”
