Racial and Economic Disparities and Unmet Needs in Patients With Severe Aortic Valvular Disease

Common barriers to receiving appropriate guideline-driven care for patients with severe aortic stenosis include referral biases by primary care providers (lack of provider education), patient comorbidities (degree of fragility), as well as psychosocial issues and cultural barriers. Additionally, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES) and education level are shown to be persistent barriers to accessing healthcare services and healthcare systems, creating a significant practice gap between various patient populations. The most recent transcatheter valve therapies (TVT) registry data show that >94% of TAVR recipients are Caucasian, followed by less than 4% of African-Americans and Hispanics, respectively. There is a critical need to understand the barriers to treatment and care among severe aortic valve disease patients of disparate groups. This study is a multi-center, retrospective and prospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. Additionally, we will be surveying referring primary care providers, cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons to assess their current referral practices for patients with severe aortic stenosis.