Black Patients Less Likely to Receive Heart Transplants

Compared to white patients, Black patients with advanced heart failure are sicker by the time they receive an LVAD, a type of “bridge” to a heart transplant. This may help explain why Black patients are less likely to receive a permanent heart transplant.

“‘The traditional medical model for treating illness has typically focused on individual solutions for solving individual problems,’ Frech said. ‘However, sociology introduces the idea that these are systematic problems that require systematic solutions. We know that inequality is harmful for human health, and there is evidence to suggest that the social systems we live in can play a role in causing disease.'”