Low-Income Elderly Face Greater Risk of Heart Failure
Research that was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in 2011 state that elderly who are lower income have a higher risk of suffering from heart failure regardless of their educational level. This particular study is the first to link Medicare-eligible individuals with an increase in the risk of heart failure.
Researchers were surprised by the findings because in the demographic focused on nearly everyone has health insurance that provides care for heart failure risk factors. Although lower income elderly individuals benefit from the Medicare program there can be differences in what is exposed to the poor to affect their health and increase their heart rate failure risk factors. “Low income” was classified as any elderly person who made less than $25,000 a year and low education was anybody who acquired anything less than college level. These individuals had a 29% higher risk compared to those with higher income and higher education. It is possible that low-income patients are unable to pay the out of pocket costs of their health care providers and experience living costs like food versus healthcare.
The study that explores the connection between lower income and heart failure does not discuss environmental factors or whether the low-income elderly who were examined in the study were more likely to live alone or if they were living in care facilities. Heart failure is an extremely serious medical ailment that needs to be treated and prevented no matter what the income of the individual is. It is a shame that the people who are slipping in the cracks are the ones who need the care the most.
A recent report breaks down by state the difference between what elderly homes bring in, if stripped of government benefits, and the needed expenditures they must incur for survival. It's like asking them to find another source of income. Knowing that what the government will provide will not be enough. Although the gap exists in all states, it is wider in some than in others. However, some politicians want to remove those benefits and make the issue even worse. Seniors are one of the groups his hardest by the recession. Source of article: The worst states for the elderly