Heart Failure in Minority Populations - Impediments to Optimal Treatment in Australian Aborigines

Title:Heart Failure in Minority Populations - Impediments to Optimal Treatment in Australian Aborigines

Volume: 12 Issue: 3

Author(s): Pupalan Iyngkaran, Nadarajan Kangaharan, Hendrik Zimmet, Margaret Arstall, Rob Minson, Merlin C. Thomas, Peter Bergin, John Atherton, Peter MacDonald, David L. Hare, John D. Horowitz and Marcus Ilton

Affiliation:

Keywords: Aboriginal Australian, Chronic Heart Failure, Cultural Health Attributions, Culture and Healthcare, Health Beliefs, Indigenous Australian.

Abstract: Chronic heart failure (CHF) among Aboriginal/Indigenous Australians is endemic. There are also grave concerns for outcomes once acquired. This point is compounded by a lack of prospective and objective studies to plan care. To capture the essence of the presented topic it is essential to broadly understand Indigenous health. Key words such as ‘worsening’, ‘gaps’, ‘need to do more’, ‘poorly studied’, or ‘future studies should inform’ occur frequently in contrast to CHF research for almost all other groups. This narrative styled opinion piece attempts to discuss future directions for CHF care for Indigenous Australians. We provide a synopsis of the problem, highlight the treatment gaps, and define the impediments that present hurdles in optimising CHF care for Indigenous Australians.

Cite this article as:

Iyngkaran Pupalan, Kangaharan Nadarajan, Zimmet Hendrik, Arstall Margaret, Minson Rob, Thomas C. Merlin, Bergin Peter, Atherton John, MacDonald Peter, Hare L. David, Horowitz D. John and Ilton Marcus, Heart Failure in Minority Populations - Impediments to Optimal Treatment in Australian Aborigines, Current Cardiology Reviews 2016; 12 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1573403X12666160606115034