Hispanics less likely to have repeat revascularizations 1 year after a...( Hispanic patients were 57 percent l...),Health

Hispanic patients were 57 percent less likely than Caucasian patients to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) one year after successful angioplasty, a type of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open blockages in the coronary arteries. Hispanics also had a trend toward lower rates of overall repeat revascularization procedures including stenting and bypass surgery, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

The study also found half of Hispanics undergoing PCI had diabetes increasing their risk for heart attack. They also were more likely to have longer lesions blocking their arteries, with the average length of 15.4 millimeters (mm) compared to 14.1 mm in Caucasians.

"More Hispanics have hypertension and diabetes, especially insulin-treated diabetes," said Shailja V. Parikh, M.D., a fellow in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

The study one of the first to examine restenosis rates in Hispanics included 542 Hispanics and 1,357 Caucasians undergoing PCI from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Dynamic Registry Waves from 1999 to 2006. Only clinical centers where 5 percent of patients were of Hispanic ethnicity were included. Despite Hispanic patients being an average three years younger, researchers found more:

• hypertension 80.4 percent versus 72.3 percent in Caucasians;
• diabetes 49.2 percent versus 27.8 percent in Caucasians; and
• insulin-treated diabetes 15 percent versus 7.4 percent in Caucasians.

Hispanic participants had less:

• peripheral vascular disease 5.6 percent versus 10.3 percent;
• prior heart attack 25.8 percent versus 30.9 percent; and
• prior PCI 27.8 percent versus 34.1 percent than Caucasians.

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