Living Environments May Not Affect Heart Disease Death Rates

Living in rural areas will not increase the risk of early death in heart patients, according to a new study.

New research from the Women's College Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences found that people living in the country are at no greater risk of dying from heart disease than their city-dwelling counterparts.

Researchers said the latest findings go against previous studies showing significant gaps in care for people living in rural areas.

"Research has long suggested people with heart disease in rural areas are at a disadvantage when it comes to access to health care and longevity," lead researcher Dr. Sacha Bhatia, a cardiologist at Women's College Hospital, said in a news release. "Our study shows once a patient leaves the hospital their overall health outcomes are similar regardless of where they live."

The latest study involved data from more than 38,000 people with chronic ischemic heart disease living in either urban or rural areas.

While the study did not reveal any differences in mortality rates between rural and urban dwellers, researchers noted that there were some significant differences. The study revealed that people living in rural areas had fewer specialist visits, went to the hospital emergency departments more frequently for care, were prescribed statins less often, were tested less frequently for cholesterol and blood sugar levels and experienced a similar risk of hospitalization and death.

Researchers noted that none of the differences found in the study resulted in worse health outcomes among patients living in rural areas.

"From our study, we know that people with heart disease in rural areas tend to rely heavily on emergency departments for their care because of a lack of outpatient access to family doctors and specialists," said Bhatia. "Yet, despite an increase in emergency department admissions in rural areas, we didn't see worse health outcomes for these individuals."

The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.