United States : A new study set up more than 46 percent of U.S. counties do not have indeed one cardiologist and in the other counties, there are an normal of 24 heart doctors.
Health Risks in Affected Counties
Counties without the facility or availability of any cardiologist are generally rural and poor, said the researchers , infact nearly 9 in 10 rural counties 86% don’t have a heart doc.
As reported in U.S. News, those counties without a heart doctor also have an average of 31% higher risk of the heart disease and a greater burden of heart health risk factors like diabetes high pressure and the elevated cholesterol and smoking.
People are more likely to die from heart-related health problems, and on average have a one-year shorter life expectancy, researchers added.
“While cardiologists are not the only determinants of cardiovascular outcomes, the lack of access to cardiologists in areas with greater prevalence of heart disease and mortality is incredibly concerning,” said Dr. Haider Warraich, who is the director of the heart failure program at VA Boston Healthcare and an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Access Challenges
People in the counties without a cardiologist have to drive about 87 miles round trip on the average to see one, compared with 16 miles round-trip in counties with a heart doctor, researchers found.
Counties are actually lacking a cardiologist and it’s getting difficult to get it on the either coast of the U.S.as well that’s what the results show and meanwhile, counties in the South without a heart doctor really had the highest risk for the heart disease.
Even in these counties are more likely to experience the hospitalizations that could have been prevented through early treatment, researchers added.
Need for Solutions
“Our findings really highlight the critical need to find ways to mitigate deep disparities to improve cardiovascular disease outcomes for Americans living in rural and disadvantaged areas,” Warraich said in a hospital news release.
There are ways to combat this lack of access to heart medicine, researchers said. Doctors could be offered more money to practice in these counties, or telemedicine could be used to extend heart care into areas without a heart doc.