Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Aboriginals have more cardiovascular risk factors than do non-Aboriginals that predispose them to the development of heart failure (HF). Whether long-term mortality outcomes and health care use differ between Aboriginals and whites with HF is unknown.
The population consisted of all Albertans aged = 20 years with an incident HF hospitalization between 2000 and 2008. Aboriginal status is recorded in the Alberta Health Care Insurance Registry and white ethnicity was determined using previously validated surname analysis algorithms. Cox and logistic regression was used to examine mortality outcomes after adjustment for key variables.
Compared with whites (n = 42,288), status aboriginal patients with HF (n = 1158) were significantly younger (mean age, 62.6 vs 75.4 years; P 10 years younger, they use more health care resources and have increased short- and long-term mortality compared with their white counterparts.