Blog
Beating heartbreak for everyone
Our vision is a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases. Reducing inequalities in heart and circulatory diseases lies at the heart of this and is an important part of our strategy to 2030.
Martin Luther King Jr once said: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.”
It’s been over 50 years since the inspirational minister and activist spoke those words at the Medical Committee for Human Rights in 1966. But, as the enduring Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted, this sentiment still rings true. As we’ve seen, there are longstanding, unfair and avoidable differences in health and disease between ethnic groups.
While Black History Month is a time for us to celebrate the achievements of Black people, it’s also a time for us to reflect upon and address the ongoing challenges in access to healthcare if we are to improve things.
Understanding the people we support
We aim to serve people from all ethnic backgrounds. Without explicitly and specifically looking at the impact of ethnicity within the work that we do, we run the risk of only partially understanding the factors that lead to poor health outcomes, especially as diversity in the UK continues to grow.
We cannot aim to change the situation if we only understand part of the story.
Ethnicity is complex and has many different links to health, but the major drivers influencing health and disease are largely the same across all ethnic groups. What we cannot ignore is that people from different ethnic groups have different experiences of health and healthcare.
The relationship between ethnicity and heart and circulatory diseases is not straight forward, and largely lies in disparities in the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, and age (so called ‘social determinants’). These differences can be made worse by significant inequalities in access to vital services for people with heart and circulatory diseases, like cardiac rehabilitation.
The BHF and ethnicity
At the BHF we want to approach ethnicity in a way that is accurate, sensitive, and specific, where possible.
We think this is important because:
• We have a responsibility to accurately represent the lived experiences of those we work with and for.
• Information for patients needs to be useful and culturally appropriate.
• In order to meaningfully call attention to and address inequalities in heart and circulatory disease we need to move beyond collective terms, like BAME, and be specific, where we can be.
What can BHF research tell us about different risks?
BHF-funded research has shown that – in the UK - people with an African or African Caribbean background may be at higher risk of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke, as well as being at higher risk of having type 2 diabetes. We need to understand why this is the case so we can beat heartbreak for everyone, irrespective of ethnicity.
One study that aims to diagnose and treat heart disease earlier – especially for people with diabetes who have African Caribbean or South Asian heritage – is led by Professor Nish Chaturvedi and her team at University College London.
This study (SABRE) previously showed that about half of people of South Asian or African Caribbean background in the UK will have diabetes by the time they are 80, compared to only a fifth of White Europeans. Supported by BHF funding, Professor Chaturvedi’s team is now working with nearly 2,000 men and women over 65 of African Caribbean and South Asian origin.
Those who have risk factors or early signs of cognitive decline, diabetes or heart disease have been identified, and their health information and data analysed to try and better understand patterns that may increase risk of heart disease.
Using further funding from the BHF and Diabetes UK, her team is also analysing data from volunteers in UK Biobank to explore why ethnic minority groups, alongside women, are more susceptible to getting diabetes-related diseases.
Access for all
The people who are hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic are often people of ethnic minority backgrounds. On top of this, the pandemic has worsened some existing inequalities in health and, given the link to heart and circulatory disease, it is even more important that we get our approach to ethnicity right.
We're advocating for people of all backgrounds
• to have opportunities to take part in research.
• to be better served in health and care.
• to have access to a better environment - cleaner air and circumstances that make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Recognising avoidable and unfair health inequalities linked to ethnic origin is the first step to addressing the societal issues. But we know that isn’t enough.
From prevention to diagnosis and cure, we need to strengthen our healthcare system’s ability to cater to everyone equally, ensuring that everybody has the right to a long and healthy life. We are committed to beating heartbreak for everyone and we know our research will have a big part to play now, and in years to come.