A staggering 46.3% of US counties, home to around 22 million people, do not have a single
practicing cardiologist, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the
American College of Cardiology. These areas, dubbed “cardiology deserts,” leave residents
without access to specialized heart care, forcing them to travel an average of 87 miles
round trip to seek treatment.
The study, conducted in partnership with GoodRx, found that the majority of these counties
(86.2%) are rural, with lower income levels, limited access to healthy food options, and
fewer healthcare providers overall. Residents in these areas are more likely to suffer from
cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, and
high cholesterol.
“The counties that do not have cardiologists probably need this type of specialty care even
more,” said Dr. Haider Warraich, the study’s senior author and a cardiologist at Brigham
and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “People living in those counties have a much higher
prevalence of the entire spectrum of cardiovascular risk factors.”
The lack of access to cardiologists in these areas may contribute to higher cardiovascular
mortality rates. The study highlights the need for incentivizing clinicians to practice in
underserved areas and leveraging telemedicine to bridge the gap in cardiovascular care.
This research sheds light on the disparities in healthcare access across the US,
emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to address the shortage of cardiologists in
rural and low-income areas.
