No evidence for social class inequalities in intervention for coronary heart disease in Otago 1987-9.

Objects: to investigate whether social class differences in access to cardiac surgical interventions (angioplasties and coronary artery bypass grafting) could explain social class inequalities in mortality from coronary heart disease.
Methods: rates of therapeutic interventions to treat coronary heart disease were calculated for male patients aged less than 65 years admitted for the first time to Dunedin Hospital with a principal diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease (ICD codes 410-414) during the three year period from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1989. Patients were categorised into different socioeconomic groups using the Elley-Irving social class scale.
Results: no statistically significant trend across social class was observed in the cumulative incidence of cardiac surgical interventions (angioplasties, coronary artery bypass grafts). Similarly there was no statistically significant trend across social class in the incidence rates of cardiac surgical interventions, even after adjustment for age.
Conclusions: social class inequalities in access to cardiac surgical intervention do not appear to explain the observed inequalities in mortality from coronary heart disease.