hepdetroit.org

Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease (CVD), is the largest contributor to all-cause mortality in the United States. Cardiovascular disease risk has declined substantially over the past decade, but this decline has been uneven across socioeconomic groups, and racial and ethnic groups. As a result, inequalities or gaps in cardiovascular disease and mortality have increased over time. In Detroit, Michigan, rates of cardiovascular mortality (deaths), averaged over a three year period, are nearly twice as high as those for Michigan or the United States as a whole. Mortality rates are highest in areas with lower socioeconomic status where a high percentage of African American and Latino residents live.

Socio-economic position and race-based residential segregation are factors that influence health disparities due to the impact they have on shaping differential access to resources - including but not limited to, education, income and wealth - that are necessary to maintain health. Both of these factors are visible in Detroit. HEP partners identified health disparities in cardiovascular disease as a major concern facing Detroit residents and have sought to better understand the multiple factors that contribute to these disparities. We works to understand the patterns, pathways and processes associated with racial and socioeconomic disparities in cardiovascular disease risk, while also working to develop effective strategies to intervene in these processes, improve heart health and eliminate the inequities that exist.