Association of Race and Ethnicity on the Management of Acute Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Background Prior studies have reported disparities by race in the management of acute myocardial infarction (MI), with many studies having limited covariates or now dated. We examined racial and ethnic differences in the management of MI, specifically non-ST-segment-elevation MI (NSTEMI), in a large, socially diverse cohort of insured patients. We hypothesized that the racial and ethnic disparities in the receipt of coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention would persist in contemporary data. Methods and Results We identified individuals presenting with incident, type I NSTEMI from 2017 to 2019 captured by a health claims database. Race and ethnicity were categorized by the database as Asian, Black, Hispanic, or White. Covariates included demographics (age, sex, race, and ethnicity); Elixhauser variables, including cardiovascular risk factors and other comorbid conditions; and social factors of estimated annual household income and educational attainment. We examined rates of coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention by race and ethnicity and income categories and in multivariable-adjusted models. We identified 87 094 individuals (age 73.8±11.6 years; 55.6% male; 2.6% Asian, 13.4% Black, 11.2% Hispanic, 72.7% White) with incident NSTEMI events from 2017 to 2019. Individuals of Black race were less likely to undergo coronary angiography (odds ratio [OR], 0.93; [95% CI, 0.89-0.98]) and percutaneous coronary intervention (OR, 0.86; [95% CI, 0.81-0.90]) than those of White race. Hispanic individuals were less likely (OR, 0.88; [95% CI, 0.84-0.93]) to undergo coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (OR, 0.85; [95% CI, 0.81-0.89]) than those of White race. Higher annual household income attenuated differences in the receipt of coronary angiography across all racial and ethnic groups. Conclusions We identified significant racial and ethnic differences in the management of individuals presenting with NSTEMI that were marginally attenuated by higher household income. Our findings suggest continued evidence of health inequities in contemporary NSTEMI treatment.