Place of Residence Linked to Heart Failure Risk

According to new research in Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, almost 5 percent of heart failure risk was connected to neighborhood factors.

What researchers have now found is evidence suggesting that characteristics of your place of residence play a significant role in influencing heart failure risks above and beyond an individual's cardiovascular risk factors and socioeconomic indicators of individual income and educational level. Prior evidence has shown that a person's socioeconomic information is a predictor for chronic disease.

The study compared census tract data on socioeconomic deprivation a collection of neighborhood-level variables of wealth, education, occupation and housing patterns -- and heart failure rates among 27,078 middle-aged participants from South-eastern states. The participants were from the Southern Community Cohort Study, an on-going prospective investigation of cancer and other chronic conditions in a largely resource-limited, under insured group living in 12 South-eastern states.

More than 50 percent of the participants lived in the most deprived neighborhood. 70% earned less than $15,000 annually; nearly 39 percent had less than a high-school education and 44 percent were obese.

During a median of five years of follow-up in the study, 4,300 participants were diagnosed with heart failure. The local environment in which we live matters to our health. The surprise in results was the magnitude to which neighborhood characteristics account for the risk of heart failure.

The researchers hope the findings raise awareness among prevention and public policy advocates to consider the role of environment and community health resources in the evaluation of health risks.

Public policy professionals need to pay attention to the neighborhood, not just the individuals, because your place of residence does predict your risk of heart failure. Improved community-level resources may ultimately reduce the risk of heart failure in these communities.

Save your Dates for 28th International Conference on Cardiology and Healthcare in Abu Dhabi, UAE for more recent updates in cardiology research.

For details contact:
Aurora Lorenz
Program Manager-Cardiology Care 2018
Mail:cardiology@healthconference.org;
healthcare@cardiologyconference.org
Website: https://healthcare.cardiologymeeting.com/