Racial disparities in access to care within the cardiac revascularization population.

Health disparities and vulnerability are embedded within the context of historical and contemporary dynamics, and are confounded by inequities in access to quality healthcare. Early management and preventive therapy has been the cornerstone of cardiovascular medicine for acute coronary syndromes. Invasive cardiac strategies, including revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting have been instituted as methods to minimize subsequent cardiovascular events and to improve survival benefits. Several studies have described the obstacles and variance involved in the distribution of access to cardiac catheterization, particularly among vulnerable groups such as African-Americans. There is a paucity of nursing research in the area of access to care and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this article is to examine the existing nature of disparities in health-care access among ethnic minority cardiac populations who utilize or require invasive cardiac procedures. This will be followed by an exploration of avenues to which nursing science can make substantial contributions.