Ethnic Dis
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To interpret, within a sociological context, evidence of physician bias in the management and outcomes of coronary heart disease (CHD) treatment for African Americans vs Whites. ⋯ Socioeconomics, individual racism, and institutional racism represent 3 predominant pathways to differential treatment for CHD that are mediated by the patient-provider relationship. Racial biases are shown to be a part of the social structure of medical practices at both the macro and micro levels. Individual healthcare providers can potentially reduce disparities in Black-White CHD treatment and outcomes by examining the patient-provider relationship for bias. Future studies will require addressing more direct ways of measuring, monitoring, and reducing subtle bias in the healthcare system.
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Diabetic nephropathy is the number one cause of endstage renal disease in the United States. Blood pressure is most important in delaying the progression of renal disease in persons with diabetes and, agents that block the renin angiotensin system (RAS) should be the primary agents used to achieve blood pressure reduction. There is debate regarding which method of RAS blockade should be used as primary therapy in persons with diabetes. ⋯ Some studies and meta-analyses show ACE inhibitors as being superior with regard to cardioprotection. In our nephrology clinic, we find that patients who presented on an ACE inhibitor had significantly lower CVD than those on ARBs (49.2% vs 70.1% prevalence of CVD, ACE inhibitor vs ARB respectively, P=.042). We conclude that ACE inhibitors should be strongly considered as the primary method of RAS inhibition in persons with diabetes.