American Journal of Public Health, Vol 90, Issue 7 1128-1134, Copyright © 2000 by American Public Health Association
Racial and ethnic differences in the use of cardiovascular procedures: findings from the California Cooperative Cardiovascular Project
E Ford, J Newman and K Deosaransingh
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. 30341, USA. esf2@cdc.gov
OBJECTIVES: This study used data from the California Cooperative
Cardiovascular Project to examine the use of invasive and noninvasive
cardiovascular procedures among Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics.
METHODS: The use of catheterization, percutaneous transluminal coronary
angioplasty (PTCA), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and
several noninvasive tests among all patients 65 years or older with a
confirmed acute myocardial infarction in nonfederal hospitals from 1994 to
1995 was studied. RESULTS: African Americans (n = 527) were less likely
than Whites (n = 9489) to have received catheterization (adjusted odds
ratio [OR] = 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.50, 0.76), PTCA (OR =
0.64, 95% CI = 0.49, 0.85), or CABG surgery (OR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.27,
0.64); somewhat more likely to have received a stress test or an
echocardiogram; and equally likely to have received a multiple-gated
acquisition scan. Hispanics (n = 689) also were less likely than Whites to
have received catheterization (OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.68, 0.98) or PTCA (OR
= 0.58, 95% CI = 0.45, 0.75). CONCLUSIONS: African Americans were less
likely than Whites to undergo costly invasive cardiovascular procedures. In
addition, Hispanics were less likely than Whites to have received
catheterization and PTCA.