An evaluation of racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular risks in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and individuals undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) face an elevated risk for recurrent events. Racial and ethnic disparities may contribute to differences in cardiovascular risk factor control, yet comprehensive assessments across multiple risk domains are limited. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of adult patients who underwent PCI at a single academic medical center between January 2018 and November 2022. Baseline cardiovascular risk was assessed at hospital discharge across four domains: systolic blood pressure (SBP), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), hemoglobin A1c (A1c), and body mass index (BMI). Individual and cumulative risk factor goal attainment were compared across racial and ethnic groups using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The study included 862 patients from four racial/ethnic groups: White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic. Overall, only 4.0 % of participants met all four cardiovascular goals at discharge. Hispanic patients had the lowest cumulative goal attainment, with 46.2 % meeting one or fewer goals, and only 14.7 % achieving at least three out of four goals. In adjusted models, Hispanic patients had significantly lower odds of achieving LDL (OR 0.48, 95 % CI: 0.29-0.77) and A1c (OR 0.40, 95 % CI: 0.27-0.58) goals compared to White patients. Asian/Pacific Islanders had the highest rates of cumulative goal achievement. CONCLUSION: Marked disparities in cardiovascular risk factor control were observed after PCI, particularly among Hispanic patients. These findings highlight the need for targeted, multidisciplinary strategies to improve equity in secondary cardiovascular prevention.