Ascent Strategy Group is working with clients to reach U.S. counties now classified as heart health deserts, where residents do not have access to a single cardiologist. These counties are more rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged, with a greater burden of CVD, highlighting deep geographic disparity in access to cardiovascular care.
New research published published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that 1,454 counties in the U.S.— 46% of them — had no practicing cardiologists. These no-cardiologist counties encompass around 22 million U.S. residents. In each of these heart health deserts, Americans cannot find anyone who specializes and is adequately trained in diagnosing and treating different types of heart disease.
A large proportion of these counties are in the Southern U.S. where population trends show poorer heart health compared other parts of the country, based on a publication in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The study found that over 16.8 million Black Americans live in counties with limited or no access to cardiologists and over two million live in counties with no such specialists at all. States with the highest number of heart health deserts include Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, Alabama, and Louisiana.
Many heart health deserts are in rural areas: 86% of entirely rural counties not have a single cardiologist.
Ascent Strategy Group's mission is health equity. The agency develops strategic roadmaps for clients to grow by addressing health system disparities. Initiatives in heart health deserts engaged by the Ascent Strategy Group team and clients include media tours, speaking engagements, health system partnerships and educational pilots. The agency is working with clients to utilize digital health technologies such as at-home blood pressure monitors and mobile apps that can be used to send heart health data to care teams and even cardiologists over 100 miles away.
