Heart Failure in African American Individuals, Version 2.0

An antecedent body of work established nearly 20 years ago benchmarked the nuanced distinctions of heart failure affecting African American people. Summative statements established a nearly 2-fold higher incidence, earlier onset, greater severity at the time of diagnosis, a more likely nonischemic etiology, a putative pathophysiology attributed to hypertensive heart disease, greater morbidity, and in younger ages (45-64 years) higher mortality. The coincident burden of adverse social determinants of health further delineates the disproportionate burden of heart failure in African American individuals. Given that race is a social construct, this peculiar predilection for a nonischemic heart failure phenotype requires further investigation.