Ethnicity is playing a role in how long it takes patients to get access to cardiac care, according to new University of Calgary research.
A research team out of the university, headed by Kathryn King, looked at patients representing people with Chinese, South Asian, First Nations and Caucasian backgrounds.
According to King, the research showed that overall, South Asians generally faced the longest wait to access cardiac care, while Caucasians faced the shortest wait.
“What I mean by access is they recognize their symptoms as a heart attack, and that they then present themselves to the emergency department to seek care,” said King.
According to King’s research, Caucasians are more likely to face central chest pains, while South Asian patients had symptoms over a larger area of the body.
Some minority groups have been aware that they have different symptoms for some time. Hargurjit Singh Minhas of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Immigrant Association said his organization has known about the symptoms and has been educating its members since 2000.
