High-income groups see a bigger decrease in cardiovascular conditions in recent years

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease has decreased among those in the highest income brackets over the past two decades — but that has led to a wider gap between those from lower-resource groups. Looking at data between 1999-2016 from nearly 45,000 individuals, scientists found that among those in higher-income groups, angina or chest pain went from 3.4% prevalence in 1999 to 0.3% in 2016. Similar reductions were seen for heart attack and congestive heart failure. And while the rest of the population — made up of those from lower-income backgrounds — also saw falling rates of angina and heart attack, those decreases were more modest. At the same time, the rate of congestive heart failure and stroke increased in this group, two conditions that also tend to have higher out-of-pocket expenses.