Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-1989
Abstract
To assess racial differences in health care utilization for coronary artery disease (CAD) the data of the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) from 1979-84 were examined. Discharge rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were utilized as a measure of hospital-based incidence and relative need for the designated cardiac procedures. Although 35-74 year old Black men had discharge rates of AMI that were 77 per cent of those observed for White men, they underwent coronary arteriography half as often and were only a third as likely to have coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Black women in this age range were hospitalized at a slightly higher rate than White women for AMI, yet experienced a 19 per cent lower rate of coronary arteriography and a 52 per cent lower rate of CABG surgery. These data suggest a racial bias in the pattern of care delivered for CAD in US hospitals at the present time.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
American Journal of Public Health
First Page
437
Last Page
440
Recommended Citation
Ford, E., Cooper, R., Castaner, A., Simmons, B., & Mar, M. (1989). Coronary arteriography and coronary bypass survey among whites and other racial groups relative to hospital-based incidence rates for coronary artery disease: Findings from NHDS. American Journal of Public Health, 79 (4), 437-440. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.79.4.437