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Patients from minority ethnic groups with heart failure are more than a third more likely to die than their white counterparts, according to a study.
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 12 existing clinical trials in patients with heart failure.
Eleven of these studies tested the effects of beta-blockers, and the remainder examined the drug spironolactone.
The researchers’ analysis found that ethnic minority patients had a 36% higher risk of death after an average of 17 months than their white counterparts.
People from ethnic minorities who also had atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, were more than twice as likely to die during the 17-month follow-up period.
The study showed that beta-blockers, commonly prescribed for heart failure, were able to reduce deaths in white patients by almost a third.
The researchers also noted that 89% of patients included in the study were white, highlighting the underrepresentation of minority ethnic patients in clinical trials.
Previous research has shown that patients who are female, black, Asian or less affluent significantly less likely to be offered heart valve surgery by the NHS in England.
Dr Sonia Babu-Narayan, associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, said the new study highlighted “clear health inequalities in how heart failure outcomes can vary by patient ethnicity”.
“Although this study is observational and cannot tell us about cause and effect, it found that ethnic minority patients were sicker and more likely to die from heart failure than others,” she said.
“If we are to close this gap, it is vital that we better understand the barriers to accessing care that people from minority ethnic backgrounds face. It is also important that studies are 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 are prescribed medication for heart failure, it is important to take it as directed by your doctor.”
Sebastian Fox, a medical student at the University of Birmingham and co-author of the study, said: “It is vitally important that steps are taken to close this worrying gap in heart failure treatment and outcomes.
“The most important thing we can do going forward is to include more ethnic minority patients in heart failure treatment trials. Otherwise, we risk drawing inappropriate conclusions that treatments are equally effective across ethnicities.
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