Skip to main content

Almost Half of U.S. Counties Do Not Have Practicing Cardiologist

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on July 9, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 8, 2024 -- Close to half of U.S. counties do not have a practicing cardiologist, according to a research letter published in the July 16 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Jeong Hwan Kim, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined differences in characteristics of counties with and without cardiologists across the United States. County-level estimates of practicing cardiologists were determined. For each county, a composite cardiovascular index was constructed by summing five cardiovascular disease risk factors.

The researchers found that 1,454 counties (46.3 percent) of the 3,143 counties analyzed had no cardiologists, while 1,689 had 24 cardiologists each, on average; of 1,105 rural counties, 86.2 percent had no cardiologists. In counties with and without cardiologists, the average round-trip distance to the nearest cardiologist was 16.3 and 87.1 miles, respectively. The cardiovascular risk index was 31 percent higher in counties without versus with cardiologists (2.8 versus 2.1). In addition, there was a greater prevalence of all risk factors, as well as higher age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality rates (281.6 versus 269.1 per 100,000); life expectancy was one year shorter, on average. Counties without cardiologists were more likely to be rural with lower household income, greater uninsurance, worse access to healthy food or primary care physicians, and more hospitalizations that were preventable.

"Although cardiologists are not the only determinants of cardiovascular outcomes, the lack of access to cardiologists in areas with greater disease prevalence and mortality rates in almost one-half of U.S. counties is quite concerning," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted July 2024

Read this next

Pulmonary Embolism More Common in Children Than Previously Thought

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Pulmonary embolism (PE) is more common in children than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025...

Mortality, Sudden Cardiac Death Higher for Male Professional Bodybuilders

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- The risks for death and sudden cardiac death (SCD) are higher for male bodybuilders than amateurs, according to a study published online May 20 in the...

Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.