Science and Medicine

“Low socioeconomic status is a heart-disease risk factor on its own and needs to be regarded as such by the medical community,” Franks said.

People with less education and lower incomes are much more likely to develop heart disease than those who are wealthier or better educated, according to a recent study.

Reported in the journal BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, the outcomes also show the risk persists even with long-term progress in addressing traditional risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol.

“Being poor or having less than a high school education can be regarded as an extra risk when assessing a patient’s chances of developing cardiovascular disease,” said lead researcher Peter Franks, a professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, Davis. “People with low socioeconomic status need to have their heart-disease indicators managed more aggressively.”

Using data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, authors of the current study included information on more than 12,000 people aged 45 to 64 years living in North Carolina, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Maryland. Participants reported their education and income levels in 1987, and then over the course of 10 years were periodically evaluated for heart-disease diagnoses and changes in their risk factors, including cholesterol, blood pressure, and smoking.

The results indicated that people with lower socioeconomic status had a 50 percent greater risk of developing heart disease than other study participants.

According to Franks, although it is known that people with low socioeconomic status have a greater risk for developing heart disease and other health problems, the reason is often attributed to reduced health-care access or poor adherence to treatments such as smoking cessation or medication.

This study showed for the first time that the increased risk endured despite long-term improvements in other risk factors, indicating that access and adherence could not account for the differences.

Read more: Lower Income Raises Heart Disease Risk

The hurricane would be the strongest to strike the East Coast in seven years, and people were already getting out of the way.

NAGS HEAD, N.C.—Hurricane Irene began lashing the East Coast with rain Friday ahead of a weekend of violent weather that was almost certain to heap punishment on a vast stretch of shoreline from the Carolinas to Massachusetts.

For hundreds of miles, people in the storm’s path headed inland, made last-minute preparations and monitored the hurricane’s every subtle movement. Irene had the potential to cause billions of dollars in damage all along a densely populated arc that included Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and beyond. At least 65 million people were in its projected track.

As the storm trudged toward northwest from the Bahamas, rain from its outer bands began falling along the North and South Carolina coast. Swells and 6- to 9-foot waves were reported along the Outer Banks. Winds were expected to pick up later. Thousands had already lost power as the fringes of the storm began raking the shore.

Forecasters expanded the hurricane warning area, which extended from North Carolina to Sandy Hook, N.J., south of New York City. A hurricane watch was in effect even farther north and included Long Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.

Risks from Irene’s wrath were many: surging seas, drenching rains, flash floods and high winds.

Read more: Rain from Hurricane Irene Reaches East Coast