A new study found that people from under-resourced neighborhoods are significantly more likely to die after a heart attack than people from wealthier neighborhoods.
The study analyzed data from nearly 32,000 heart attack patients between 2006 and 2016. The study results revealed that people living in under-resourced neighborhoods were 5 percent more likely to die after a heart attack. The research also revealed significant health disparities based on neighborhood quality.
The study highlights the influence of the environment on an individual’s health and shines a spotlight on how factors like poverty affect outcomes.
A cardiologist of The Ohio State University Dr. Sakima Smith said about the study, “I believe this study sheds new insight on social determinants of health, and that poor outcomes after a heart attack may in part be determined based on where you live more so than your ethnicity.”
Additionally, Ph.D., associate dean for research at New York University’s School of Global Public Health Melody Goodman said, “In public health, we know that where we work, play, and live impacts health outcomes. Where you live really matters, particularly because of the way racism is embedded itself into the structures of the country. Based on a zip code, we can predict more about a person’s health. Economics matters. Poverty is the biggest killer in the United States.”