Cardiovascular health has improved dramatically across the U.S. over the past several decades, but those gains were enjoyed almost exclusively by the wealthiest segments of the population, a new analysis finds. The progress made against cardiovascular disease concealed broad, income-driven inequities in cardiovascular health that emerged and have grown increasingly wider since the late 1980s, according to the new findings.
“The large reduction in cardiovascular risk – one of the main accomplishments of clinical and public health in the U.S. over the past half-century – was a benefit that was not equally shared,” said the researchers. “People who earn less income did not benefit much, whereas all the benefit was concentrated among people with higher incomes.”
In an analysis of the medical records of a representative group of 26,633 U.S. adults afrom 1988 to 2018, their 10-year cardiovascular risk fell from 7.7% to 5.1% for the wealthiest segment of the population and from 7.6% to 6.1% for the second-wealthiest group. But for people with the lowest incomes, risk increased slightly from 8.1% to 8.7%.
See “Nation’s heart health success story not written for everyone” by Laura Williamson on the American Heart Association website (April 3, 2024)
