Exposing Inequality: Environmental Injustice and Cardiovascular Health Disparities

This review explores the intersection between environmental injustice and cardiovascular (CV) health disparities, highlighting how climate change, pollution, and environmental exposures disproportionately impact vulnerable populations. It delves into environmental racism, showing how non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities face higher exposure to pollutants and climate-related hazards. This increased exposure contributes to greater CV morbidity and mortality, exacerbated by historical practices such as redlining and insufficient exposure regulations. The review points out the limitations of traditional CV risk models that overlook these environmental factors. Promoting transparency, community-driven solutions, and linking macro policies with local implementation are crucial to combating environmental injustice. It suggests that the emerging field of environmental cardiology can adopt eco-friendly sustainable practices and remote care solutions to reduce health care's carbon footprint, integrate environmental risks into prevention and treatment plans, and advocate for policies that reduce disparities in CV disease outcomes.