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It is a well-established fact that multiple factors (e.g., family history/genetics, clinical care, socioeconomics, lifestyle) contribute to the prevalence and outcomes of cardiovascular disease. Today, accruing evidence suggests that a strong relationship also exists between economic indicators (e.g., wealth, prosperity, employment) and cardiovascular disease outcomes.
Large-scale population studies indicate that improvements in local economic prosperity are associated with relative decreases in cardiovascular mortality rates, ischemic heart disease mortality rates, and all-cause mortality rates regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. Moreover, the evidence suggests that living in more prosperous areas is associated with generally higher quality of healthcare (including greater receipt of recommended services), lower hospital admission and mortality rates, and lower per-capita healthcare expenditures (including end-of-life care costs).