Racial Disparities in Cardiac Care: Geography Matters

Racial disparities in health care have been well-documented, although the reasons for many of these disparities remain obscure. An intriguing possibility is that geographic factors—the places where certain groups live or obtain health care—contribute to racial disparities, especially in the use of new medical technologies. This Issue Brief examines racial disparities in the use of life-saving cardiac procedures and mortality after cardiac arrest, and considers how geographic differences in health care affect these disparities.