TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Location and Level of Care, Education, Availability of Medicines, and Cardiovascular Mortality A1 - Gupta, Rajeev A1 - Joseph, Philip A1 - Rosengren, Annika A1 - Yusuf, Salim A2 - Fuster, Valentin A2 - Narula, Jagat A2 - Vaishnava, Prashant A2 - Leon, Martin B. A2 - Callans, David J. A2 - Rumsfeld, John S. A2 - Poppas, Athena PY - 2022 T2 - Fuster and Hurst's The Heart, 15e AB - Chapter SummaryThis chapter discusses societal and individual-level social determinants of cardiovascular health. Understanding these social determinants of cardiovascular health is important for improving the outcomes among individuals and the community through better prevention and treatments for ischemic heart disease (IHD). Epidemiological studies have reported that populations in rural and underserved urban locations have greater cardiovascular events and mortality than urbanites in developed and developing countries. This risk is mediated through location-based disparities in health care, lower educational status (a marker of lower socioeconomic status), and lower availability and affordability of medicines (see Fuster and Hurst’s Central Illustration). Policy-level interventions that focus on each of these three factors are needed to improve quality of health systems and health care in these underserved locations. Essential to this improvement is the requirement for novel health financing mechanisms to provide comprehensive universal primary and secondary health care, especially in developing countries. High-quality and free universal health care are crucial for improving access and use of proven medicines and other interventions, and promotion of lifelong adherence can lead to substantially better cardiovascular health. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/20 UR - accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1202443460 ER -