Black patients are 22% more likely to die in the hospital after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. According to a study of over 1 million patients presented at the annual 2024 meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Here are 10 more takeaways from the study:
1. Researchers evaluated a national inpatient database of 1,159,040 patients undergoing CABG in the U.S. between 2016 and 2021.
2. Among the over 1 million patients, 75.58% were white, 7.44% were Hispanic, 6.75% were Black and 10.23% were categorized as belonging to other racial groups.
3. In comparison with white patients, Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to be younger. White patients were, on average, 77 years old, while Black patients were, on average, 63 years old and Hispanic patients were, on average, 64 years old.
4. Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to have heart failure.
5. Researchers found that 3.2% of Black CABG patients died in the hospital, compared with 2.4% of white patients and 2.5% of Hispanic patients.
6. Black patients stayed in the hospital an average 1.5 days longer than white and Hispanic patients.
7. Black patients also had a 23% higher rate of cardiac arrest.
8. Total hospital costs were, on average, $23,000 higher for Black patients and $78,000 higher for Hispanic patients.
9. Researchers noted a number of actions that could close this gap in care, including:
- Surgery teams and perioperative care providers should develop preventative measure to reduce the risk of complications for patients at higher risk
- Preoperative and cardiovascular clinics should focus "rigorously" on improving patients' heart health before surgery
- Governments and health care systems must improve healthcare access and conduct population-wide screening programs
- Governments must address the obesity epidemic, which disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic patients
10. "It is imperative that modern policies focus on improving the screening, diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions that disproportionately impact the Black population and other minorities. Although strides have been made in workforce diversity and addressing racial biases in health care technology, the path toward true equity remains long and requires a much more concerted effort," said Vinicius Moreira, MD, the lead author of the study and chief anesthesiology resident at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago