- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: Coronavirus-Related Heart Issues; Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Outcomes; Urging Smokers to Quit
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was linked with cardiovascaluar issues and cardiac arrest; African Americans were shown to have higher rates of infection and death due to COVID-19; health experts call for smokers to cease use and manufacturers to halt production.
Cardiovascular Issues Seen in Patients With COVID-19
According to an article published by Kaiser Health News, doctors have been reporting that in addition to the respiratory issues known to occur in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many infected patients have also developed heart problems that subsequently led to cardiac arrest. Based on data from numerous affected regions, such as Italy, China, Washington, and New York, cardiac experts have started to believe that the virus can infect the heart muscle, with as many as 1 in 5 patients experiencing heart damage leading to heart failure and death, even in patients who show no signs of respiratory impairment.
African Americans Infected, Dying at Higher Rates
Cities and states tracking COVID-19 cases by race have shown that African Americans are disproportionately affected compared with other races, which has also led to a high mortality rate due to environmental, economic, and political factors that can weaken lungs and make immune systems vulnerable. ProPublica reported that while the CDC tracks outbreaks and typically releases detailed data on information related to age, race, and location, it has yet to release data on race. “COVID is just unmasking the deep disinvestment in our communities, the historical injustices and the impact of residential segregation,” said Camara Jones, MD, a family physician, epidemiologist, and visiting fellow at Harvard University. “This is the time to name racism as the cause of all of those things. The overrepresentation of people of color in poverty and white people in wealth is not just a happenstance.…It’s because we’re not valued.”
Health Experts Call to Cease Tobacco Use, Production
Health experts from the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (the Union) stressed in a statement today for smokers to quit their cigarette use and for manufacturers to stop producing and selling tobacco products amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Reuters. Gan Quan, a public health specialist and director at the Union, noted that governments have a “moral imperative” to advise current smokers to cease use, with emerging evidence published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicating that infected smokers, both past and present, comprised more than 25% of patients who needed mechanical ventilation, were admitted to an intensive care unit, or died.
From Polypharmacy to Personalized Care: Dr Nihar Desai Discusses Holistic Cardiovascular Care
May 30th 2024In this episode of Managed Care Cast, Nihar Desai, MD, MPH, cardiologist and vice chief of Cardiology at the Yale School of Medicine, discusses therapies for cardiovascular conditions as they relate to patient adherence, polypharmacy, and health access.
Listen
For National Women’s Health Week, One Company Emphasizes Cardiovascular Risk Management
May 10th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Joanne Armstrong, MD, MPH, vice president and chief medical officer for Women’s Health and Genomics at CVS Health, on the distinct pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in women and how her own health experiences have influenced her perspective on cardiovascular disease management.
Listen
