Effects of race on lipid-lowering management in hospitalized patients with coronary heart disease.
The objective of this study was to determine the association between patient characteristics, specifically race, and the appropriate management of lipid-reducing therapy in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) discharged from the hospital. Two hundred fifty-eight consecutive patients with diagnoses suggestive of CHD were identified in a large, inner-city university teaching hospital serving a predominantly indigent African American population. The outcome measure, suboptimal lipid management, evaluated the intensification of lipid-reducing therapy when indicated using the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines for the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal. The overall rate of suboptimal lipid management was 48%. Black patients with CHD were significantly more likely to have suboptimal lipid management than nonblack patients by the time of hospital discharge (52.3% vs 16.7%, p = 0.021). The disparity in the clinical management of black patients with CHD may help explain the differential in health outcomes seen between black and white patients.
Dressler
Daniel D
DD
Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Jacobson
Terry A
TA
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000368:Aged; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015897:Comorbidity; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D044469:Racial Groups; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents