BOSTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- High U.S. hospital volume doesn't explain racial disparity in cardiovascular procedure deaths among blacks and Hispanics, say Boston researchers.
U.S. hospitals that perform fewer cardiovascular procedures tend to have higher death rates than higher-volume hospitals -- and although African-American and Hispanic patients tend to be treated at lower-volume hospitals, differences in volume do not explain racial disparities in cardiovascular procedure death rates, the researchers say.
"Our results have two important implications: one, clinicians should recognize that black patients face markedly higher mortality after some cardiovascular procedures, with up to a two-fold increase in the risk of post-procedure death; and two, although better access to high-volume hospitals may improve outcomes for both white and minority patients, this increased use of high-volume hospitals is unlikely to eliminate racial differences in post-procedure mortality," said Dr. Amal N. Trivedi of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
The study will appear in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Tuesday.
