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Although some studies have documented higher rates of hospitalization for heart failure among blacks than among non-Hispanic whites, recent data suggest that blacks appear to have better short-term survival rates after discharge. To provide some clarity, researchers retrospectively analyzed data from 21,994 patients (22% black) who had been discharged alive from 153 Veterans Affairs hospitals after a first hospitalization for heart failure (October 1997 through September 1999). Analyses were adjusted for 11 risk factors.
During the year after discharge, blacks and whites had similar rates of readmission and of overall health care utilization. However, outpatient clinic visits were less common among blacks than among whites, whereas urgent ca…