Patients from disadvantaged communities face significantly longer waits for critical heart procedures, according to a new study examining atrial fibrillation (AF) care. Researchers found that social determinants of health—measured by the Area Deprivation Index (ADI)—are strongly linked to delays in receiving catheter ablation, a common treatment for AF.
The study analyzed data from over 1,000 patients treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital between 2014 and 2023. It revealed that for every 10-point increase in ADI percentile, the time from diagnosis to ablation increased by nearly 7%, translating to an average delay of 3.8 months. Patients in the most disadvantaged third waited over a year longer than those in the least deprived group.
These delays were consistent across age, sex, and race, suggesting that socioeconomic status alone plays a powerful role in access to timely care. While anticoagulation prescription rates did not vary significantly by ADI, the delay in ablation could have serious consequences for long-term heart health.
The findings highlight how structural inequities—such as income, education, and neighborhood conditions—can quietly shape medical outcomes. Even in a high-resource setting, patients from underserved backgrounds face barriers that extend the time to potentially life-saving procedures.
Researchers call for systemic interventions to address these disparities and ensure that all patients, regardless of zip code or income, receive timely and equitable cardiac care.
See: “Social Determinants of Health and Disparities in Diagnosis-to-Ablation Time for Atrial Fibrillation” (August 28, 2025)
