CLEVELAND — February is American Heart Health Month and African American Heritage Month, an opportunity to raise awareness about the number one cause of death for Black Americans.
Ohio ranks 38th and 40th, respectively, in life expectancy and heart disease mortality, two important indicators of overall population health. Heart diseases such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, arrhythmias, valve abnormalities, and heart failure are more prevalent in low-income communities of all races, not just Black and Hispanic American communities. Notably, black Americans are more likely than white Americans to die from heart disease complications once diagnosed.
Despite these alarming statistics, heart disease mortality rates in all communities have decreased over the past 30 years. Thanks to the effectiveness of available drugs, innovations in surgical techniques, and advances in minimally invasive medical devices, many patients can experience excellent outcomes once diagnosed. New data show that while racial outcome disparities still exist in many types of cardiovascular care, implementing intentional systems-based protocols can help reverse historical disparities in care during heart attacks. This proves that it can be reduced.
What are the opportunities to ameliorate the seemingly impenetrable race- and class-based disparities in health care that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. aptly described as the most shocking and inhumane form of inequality?
Recent advances in digital technology have become a gateway to democratizing healthy personal behavior.
Our recent Heart Health 2024 survey reveals how Black Americans view technology and health. More than 75% of survey participants believe that the information displayed by a computer chat box is accurate. Importantly, 90% said they would definitely talk to their health care provider. in front Act on the recommendations in the chat box.
Unfortunately, only 50% of respondents use any device or technology to monitor their health, and patients are still realizing the tremendous potential of technology to improve heart health. There may not be. Most people who have adopted a ‘wearable’ use it to measure steps (60%) and pulse rate (53%). They use technology less to monitor important variables such as sleep (33%) and blood pressure (32%).
This study provides evidence that digital technology increases patient autonomy in the context of chronic disease, with Black Americans (42%) more likely than White Americans (29%) to track their blood pressure or It is likely that your body fat will be measured. composition (20% vs. 11%).
Why is it important to invest in health systems to sponsor research like this? Too often, health care providers assume they understand the causes of patient and community behavior. Asking the right questions, listening, and sharing results are essential to effectively partnering with the communities we serve.
From the patient’s perspective, well-trained “digital” agents quickly answer calls, manage claims, paperwork, and medical questions, and work across time, space, and specialty areas of large health systems. Consider a healthcare system that provides navigation across healthcare systems. . Or, your doctor doesn’t have to look at you during your visit, freed up by an AI assistant who transcribes your notes.
There is a lot of upfront design and implementation work that needs to be done to allay the legitimate concerns that communities of color have. Healthcare algorithms (“deep learning”) result from the analysis of large patient data sets. However, computer-generated results can be biased if the body of search information that yields conclusions does not include sufficient representation of minority individuals. Efforts are currently underway to identify and eliminate long-standing mathematical racial biases that machines learn from. As the saying goes in statistics, “biased data input equals biased data output.”
Digital technology and AI represent the fourth industrial revolution and are here to stay. Our challenge is to identify opportunities to responsibly deploy digital and AI solutions to encourage and strengthen healthy individual behaviors. Most importantly, we must do this across all communities, especially the most vulnerable.we must not perpetuate computerized Structural racism in this new era.
Dr. Lee Kirksey is the Walter W. Buckley Endowed Associate Director of Vascular Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute and serves as the Institute’s Chief Capital Community Engagement Officer. He is a Northeast Ohio native dedicated to population-based strategies to improve the health of all communities.
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