Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure appear less likely to receive hospice care than white patients with the same condition, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Underuse of hospice care is well documented, especially among racial and ethnic minorities," the authors write as background information in the article. "Racial and ethnic differences in patients who use hospice care have been found across a spectrum of patients with cancer diagnoses and may be more pronounced in patients with non-cancer diagnoses." Heart failure affects nearly 5 million people in the United States; advanced heart disease is the second most common hospice diagnosis, accounting for about 12 percent of all hospice enrollees.
Patients With Active Lupus Have Increased Antibodies Linked to Cardiovascular Disease
Autoantibodies to fat binding proteins significantly increase in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with active disease, a study by researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom suggests.
Autoantibodies to fat binding proteins significantly increase in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with active disease, a study by researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom suggests.
Over the next year, of the beneficiaries who entered hospice care, 18.2 percent did so because of heart failure. In unadjusted analyses, black and Hispanic patients were less likely than white patients to enter hospice care; the association persisted after adjusting for other factors, including income, urban location, severity of heart failure and co-occurring illnesses. When compared with whites, black patients and Hispanic patients had lower odds of receiving hospice care.
"In addition to sociodemographic, clinical and geographic characteristics, cultural beliefs and values may contribute to differences between blacks and whites in end-of-life care and hospice use," the authors write. "For example, compared with whites, blacks are less likely to complete advance directives, have less favorable beliefs about hospice care, opt for more aggressive treatments and are more likely to have spiritual beliefs that conflict with the goals of palliative treatment."
Cardiovascular Disease may be Treated by Shifting Cellular Energy Metabolism
A range of conditions including heart attack and stroke may be treated by drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy.
A range of conditions including heart attack and stroke may be treated by drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy.
Source-Eurekalert
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Cardiovascular Disease Risk may be Discerned from Tiny Molecules
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center say that tiny bits of molecular trash found in circulating blood appear to be good predictors of cardiovascular disease and untimely death.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center say that tiny bits of molecular trash found in circulating blood appear to be good predictors of cardiovascular disease and untimely death.
Higher Rates of Cardiovascular Disease Linked to Lower IQ
New research indicates that IQ is among the strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease and is second only to cigarette smoking in large population study.
New research indicates that IQ is among the strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease and is second only to cigarette smoking in large population study.
