African-Americans are especially vulnerable to congestive heart failure, a condition in which the heart fails to pump sufficient blood and progressively weakens. The prevalence of the disease among blacks aged 45 to 64 is about 5 percent, almost double that of whites. Blacks with the ailment also deteriorate more rapidly than white patients do.
Several studies have shown that, compared with whites, blacks with heart disease are also less likely to receive services and treatment for it. An analysis by Amundsen Group, a consulting firm specializing in managed care issues, estimates that roughly 70 percent of all African-Americans over the age of 45 have no health-insurance coverage for BiDil or must pay steep insurance co-payments to obtain the drug.
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co-payments
congestive heart failure
Health insurance coverage
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