Cardiac procedures among American Indians and Alaska Natives compared to non-Hispanic whites hospitalized with ischemic heart disease in California.
BACKGROUND
American Indians/Alaska Natives (AIAN) experience a high burden of cardiovascular disease with rates for fatal and nonfatal heart disease approximately twofold higher than the U.S. population.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if disparities exist in cardiac procedure rates among AIAN compared to non-Hispanic whites hospitalized in California for ischemic heart disease defined as acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study. EVENTS: A total of 796 ischemic heart disease hospitalizations among AIAN and 90971 among non-Hispanic whites in 37 of 58 counties in California from 1998-2002.


METHODS
Cardiac catheterization, percutaneous cardiac intervention, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery procedure rates from hospitalization administrative data.


RESULTS
AIAN did not have lower cardiac procedure rates for cardiac catheterization and percutaneous cardiac intervention compared to non-Hispanic whites (unadjusted OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.87-1.16 and OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.90-1.20, respectively). Adjustment for age, sex, comorbidities, and payer source did not alter the results (adjusted OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.82-1.10 and OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.85-1.14, respectively). We found higher odds (unadjusted OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.09-1.70) for receipt of coronary artery bypass graft surgery among AIAN hospitalized for ischemic heart disease compared to non-Hispanic whites which after adjustment attenuated some and was no longer statistically significant (adjusted OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.00-1.58).


CONCLUSIONS
AIAN were not less likely to receive cardiac procedures as non-Hispanic whites during hospitalizations for ischemic heart disease. Additional research is needed to determine whether differences in specialty referral patterns, patients' treatment preferences, or outpatient management may explain some of the health disparities due to cardiovascular disease that is found among AIAN.
Jolly
Stacey
S
Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA, USA. jollys@ccf.org
Kao
Chi
C
Bindman
Andrew B
AB
Korenbrot
Carol
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000413:Alaska / Q000208:ethnology; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002140:California / Q000208:ethnology; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy*; D044382:Population Groups / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology*