A new study reveals that racialized and Indigenous communities across Europe, North America, and Central America face disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) — a problem made worse by significant gaps in health-care data.
CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide, but it does not affect everyone equally. In many countries, Black, South Asian, and Indigenous populations experience higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension than white populations. Without accurate data to identify who is most at risk and why, health systems cannot deliver fair or effective care.
Published on August 21 in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, this research is co-authored by McMaster University scientists Sonia Anand and Sujane Kandasamy as part of a commission on cardiovascular health disparities. The findings will also be presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2025 in Madrid. Anand noted that these inequities are closely tied to poverty, inadequate housing, and limited access to care, with women from marginalized groups particularly affected.
The study highlights wide variations in how racial and ethnic data are collected globally. Canada records ethnicity in its census but not in clinical databases, Europe lacks standardized measures, and Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean rarely collect ethnicity or Indigenous health data. In the U.S., race and ethnicity are collected more consistently, but the categories often fail to capture diversity.
A special section led by Indigenous cardiologist Miles Marchand shows that Indigenous peoples who maintain or restore traditional lifestyles enjoy improved cardiovascular health despite barriers to care.
The authors call for governments to standardize data collection, for clinicians to screen high-risk groups, and for public health programs to provide affordable treatments, encourage active living, and promote culturally tailored nutrition to save lives and reduce health-care costs.
