Racial Differences in the Outcome of Left Ventricular Dysfunction

Abstract

Population-based studies have found that black patients with congestive heart failure have a higher mortality rate than white patients with the same condition. This finding has been attributed to differences in the severity, causes, and management of heart failure, the prevalence of coexisting conditions, and socioeconomic factors. Although these factors probably account for some of the higher mortality due to congestive heart failure among blacks, we hypothesized that racial differences in the natural history of left ventricular dysfunction might also have a role.