The Impact of Socioeconomic Disparities on Cardiovascular Health During The COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted cardiovascular health by raising biological risk factors among certain socioeconomic groups. This study demonstrates how socioeconomic determinants of health, including education, income, and demographic disparities, collectively contribute to cardiovascular health outcomes and how these populations face significant long-term physiological detriments. Lower socioeconomic communities faced greater detriments to cardiovascular health from 2020 to 2022 because of such factors, causing more serious conditions such as hypertension and coronary artery disease, as well as aggravating underlying biological risk factors. These biological risk factors include, but are not limited to, lower ejection fraction and aggravation of less harmful cardiovascular conditions such as diabetes. Physical risk factors have also increased among lower-income populations as more and more communities during this time have turned to coping methods such as smoking and overeating to manage stress. This, in turn, also ends up compromising cardiovascular well-being that is not solely based on biological risk factors. Using data from this period, this research examines persistent inequalities in cardiovascular health outcomes across various groups, categorizing the data by demographic characteristics such as gender and age. Results highlight the connection between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular health, underscoring the need for significant intervention and policy changes to address health disparities on a global scale.