Key result
Incarceration disrupts cardiac EP care, likely driving treatment below community standards.
Why the study?
Incarcerated individuals bear a disproportionate cardiovascular disease burden and face specialty care barriers, yet the impact of incarceration on cardiac electrophysiology care remains underrecognized and incompletely characterized.
Electrophysiology care in incarcerated populations is understudied and likely falls below community standards, requiring coordinated policy and health system initiatives to ensure equitable access.
Incarceration disrupts electrophysiology care delivery; leaves open the need for prospective studies to guide interventions.
BACKGROUND: Incarcerated individuals bear a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease and face significant barriers to specialty care, including in cardiac electrophysiology. The impact of incarceration on electrophysiology care remains underrecognized and incompletely characterized. OBJECTIVE: To characterize how incarceration disrupts the delivery of cardiac electrophysiology care, identify clinical and system-level barriers, and propose opportunities to improve access and quality. METHODS: We conducted a narrative review of the literature on incarceration, cardiovascular disease, and electrophysiology care. RESULTS: High-quality EP care depends on care continuity, specialized diagnostics, procedural access, and longitudinal device and medication management - features that conflict with the structural, financial, and logistical constraints of incarceration. This review describes healthcare delivery in carceral systems, highlights the unique vulnerability of heart rhythm care in these environments, and identifies opportunities to improve access and quality. CONCLUSION: Electrophysiology care in incarcerated populations is understudied and likely falls below community standards. As the incarcerated population ages, demand for quality EP care will grow. Addressing this gap will require coordinated policy, health system, and research initiatives to ensure equitable access to EP care for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.
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Halloran et al. (2026) conducted a review in Cardiovascular disease and electrophysiology care in incarcerated individuals. Incarceration was evaluated. Incarceration disrupts the delivery of cardiac electrophysiology care due to structural, financial, and logistical constraints, likely resulting in care that falls below community standards.
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