Washington University cardiovascular division faculty Drs. Sharon Cresci, Gmerice Hammond, and Karen Joynt Maddox as well as cardiovascular research fellow Dr. Daniel Fox, published “Inequities in Treatments and Outcomes Among Patients Hospitalized With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in the United States” in the Journal of the American Heart Association May 26th.
The study found that “Among 53,117 patients hospitalized with HCM, race, sex, social, and geographic risk factors were associated with disparities in HCM outcomes and treatment.” The study took hospital data of patients hospitalized with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy between the years 2012 and 2018, and is the largest of its kind to date studying hospital outcomes for HCM patients.
The team writes, “the disparities we observed in treatment patterns may be due to modifiable factors, including structural and interpersonal racism, differences in access to specialized care, and differences in prior treatments.”
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is a disease in which the heart muscle becomes thickened, impeding blood flow. It effects an estimated 1 in 500 Americans, and is the most common genetically inherited form of heart disease. You can read more about Wash U’s patient care for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy here.