News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound | June 16, 2017

Disparities Found in Standard of Cardiac Care for Heart Valve Disease in Minorities

heart valve regurgitation seen on an echocardiogram, cardiac ultrasound, from ASE study

June 15, 2017 – While much attention has been focused on ways to lower heart disease-related injuries and deaths, there is accumulating evidence that there is still much to be done for this work to reach all segments of the U.S. population. A group of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), looked at cardiovascular patient care during a 15-year time frame and found there remains significant disparities in routine cardiac care for chronic heart valve disease. Minorities, Hispanics in particular, continue to be less likely to receive timely and thorough cardiac ultrasound evaluations.  

Research led by Varsha K. Tanguturi, M.D., of MGH looked at more than 31,058 patient records and found that Hispanic patients were less likely to receive follow-up transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) for their valve issues than would be considered appropriate by medical guidelines. 

“Looking at patient patterns from 2001-2016, our preliminary analysis shows there may be disparities in the receipt of surveillance imaging for mitral valve disease,” Tanguturi said. Researchers also found that as patients aged, the odds of having a TTE within the appropriate time interval decreased across all races.
 
Further research into other types of valvular disease in broader patient populations is needed to determine the extent and significance of these results. The cause of these disparities, whether from variability in ordering by the provider, or patient access to care is unknown. The clinical significance of these disparities is also yet to be determined, but identification of the causes could allow for interventions to improve the ability for at-risk patients to complete appropriate surveillance of valvular disease, which could in turn possibly improve cardiovascular health outcomes.   
 
Tanguturi will present a poster based on this research presented a poster based on this research during the recent American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 2017 meeting. Additional researchers on the study “Disparities in Echocardiographic Surveillance of Mitral Regurgitation (MR),” include Vijeta Bhambhani, Michael Picard, M.D., Katrina Armstrong, M.D. and Jason Wasfy, M.D., MPhil.

Read the article "Race, Gender and Socioeconomic Factors Impact PCI Outcomes."
 

For more information: ASEcho.org


Related Content

Feature | Cardiovascular Ultrasound | Kyle Hardner

The demand for ultrasound has outpaced the supply of trained sonographers over the past 15 years, straining hospital ...

Home March 11, 2026
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

Septe. 30, 2025 -- GE HealthCare Vivid iq Ultrasound system has been selected by NASA for delivery to the International ...

Home October 09, 2025
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

Sept. 26, 2025 — A new guideline from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) offers updated and expanded ...

Home October 03, 2025
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

Aug. 27, 2025 — Royal Philips has released Transcend Plus, the next generation of its EPIQ CVx and Affiniti CVx ...

Home August 27, 2025
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

Aug. 14, 2025 — Philips has announced a plan for new investments of more than $150 million in U.S. manufacturing and ...

Home August 14, 2025
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

March 24, 2025 — FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas Corp. and Us2.ai have partnered to equip Fujifilm’s LISENDO 800 ...

Home March 24, 2025
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

Feb. 11, 2025 — UltraSight, a company committed to enhancing the efficiency and productivity of cardiac ultrasound ...

Home February 18, 2025
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

May 30, 2024 — A recent study published in the European Heart Journal highlights the significant enhancements that the ...

Home May 30, 2024
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

April 5, 2024 — Cardiawave SA, a French medtech company that has developed an innovative Non-Invasive focused Ultrasound ...

Home April 05, 2024
Home
News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound

August 24, 2023 —Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, highlighted how it integrates AI in cardiac ...

Home August 24, 2023
Home
Subscribe Now